The U.S. military has formally approved charges against Khaled Sheikh Mohammed, the self-proclaimed mastermind of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks against the United States.

Pentagon officials said Wednesday Mohammed and four other Guantanamo Bay prisoners are accused of terrorism, hijacking aircraft, conspiracy and murder.

The defendants could get the death penalty if convicted.

The attacks in New York, Washington, D.C. and Shanksville, Pennsylvania killed nearly 3,000 people.

Mohammed is a Kuwaiti-born Pakistani who was educated in the United States.

In 2008, Mohammed said he wanted to plead guilty to all charges against him.