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Five 9/11 suspects to be tried in U.S.

WASHINGTON, Nov. 13 (UPI) -- The self-proclaimed mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and four co-defendants will be tried in a civilian court in New York, an official said Friday.

The decision to try Khalid Sheik Mohammed and the four other suspects in federal civilian court instead of before a military commission was to be announced formally Friday by the Justice Department, The Washington Post reported.

President Barack Obama, in Japan on the first stop of his trip to Asia, declined to comment fully on the decision before its announcement by the Justice Department.

"This is a prosecutorial decision as well as a national security decision," Obama said during a news conference with Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama.

"I am absolutely convinced that Khalid Sheik Mohammed will be subject to the most exacting demands of justice," Obama said. "The American people insist on it and my administration will insist on it."

Mohammed and the four other defendants had faced capital charges in a military commission at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The administration sought suspensions in those proceedings while officials decided on the best forum for prosecution, saying a final determination would be made by Monday.

The decision to try the five suspects in the 2001 terror attacks won't affect the majority of the 215 detainees still at Guantanamo Bay, sources told the Post.

The decision is part of Obama's desire to close the military prison within a year of his taking office in January.

Human rights groups argued military commissions don't have the legitimacy of federal prosecutions.

Republicans and and other advocacy groups have expressed displeasure at the possibility of trials in the U.S. criminal courts, saying military commissions offer a secure environment and adequate legal protections for defendants.

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U.S., Japan re-commit to nuke-free world

TOKYO, Nov. 13 (UPI) -- The United States and Japan are committed to nuclear weapons non-proliferation and achieving a nuclear weapon-free world, President Obama said in Tokyo Friday.

"Japan has been an outstanding partner in those efforts," the U.S. president said during a news conference with Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama.

The two countries also issued a statement concerning non-proliferation and working toward a world without atomic weapons.

The governments said they welcomed the recent U.N. Security Council Summit on Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Nuclear Disarmament, and several council resolutions supporting efforts to achieve total elimination of nuclear weapons.

"Recognizing the challenge to achieve total elimination of nuclear weapons, the government of the United States and the government of Japan plan to work actively to create conditions for achieving this objective," the statement said. "They express their determination to take the following practical steps on nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation in a way that promotes international stability and security while ensuring that those steps do not in any way diminish the national security of Japan or the United States of America and its allies."

During the news conference, Obama said he and Hatoyama discussed North Korea and Iran.

"We recognize that it's absolutely vital that both countries meet their international obligations," Obama said during the news conference.

In the statement, the two governments pledged to work toward nuclear disarmament, nuclear non-proliferation while protecting peaceful uses of nuclear energy and nuclear security.

"Recognizing the continuing threat of nuclear terrorism, the two governments reaffirm their commitment to ensuring that civil nuclear materials and facilities receive the highest levels of physical protection," the statement said. "They also pledge their support for efforts to secure all vulnerable nuclear material around the world within four years."

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Explosions kill several in Pakistan

PESHAWAR, Pakistan, Nov. 13 (UPI) -- Separate bombings Friday in Pakistan's violence-ravaged Peshawar and in Bannu district killed several people and injured dozens more, authorities said.

In Peshawar, capital of Pakistan's North-West Frontier Province and the target of numerous deadly terror attacks lately, a suicide car bomber attacked Pakistan's security offices, killing at least 10 people and wounding about 30, Geo News reported.

The BBC reported the blast destroyed the building of the Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence agency. Those killed included security officials, it said.

People also were trapped under the rubble, the BBC report said.

In the other attack in Bakka Khel in Bannu district southwest of Peshawar, a suicide bomber rammed his vehicle into a police station, killing at least seven people including five policemen, Geo News reported quoting police official Muhammad Iqbal.

The police building, near the border with the tribal areas, was destroyed in the bombing, the report said.

Several Pakistani cities, particularly Peshawar, have suffered a wave of terror attacks lately in which more than 300 have died, mostly civilians. In the worst attack on Peshawar in recent years, more than 100 died, mostly women and children, in a car bomb explosion is a busy market area last month.

The Pakistani military has been waging a major operation against the Taliban, al-Qaida and other terror groups since Oct. 17 in the lawless South Waziristan tribal region.

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Bomb explosion outside military base

KABUL, Afghanistan, Nov. 13 (UPI) -- A car bomb exploded Friday near a U.S. military base outside Kabul, injuring three coalition soldiers, Afghan authorities said.

CNN reported two Afghans also died in the attack outside Camp Phoenix which houses mostly U.S. soldiers who train Afghan security forces.

The Web site of NATO's International Security Assistance Force said a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device detonated on Jalalabad Road in Kabul Friday morning.

"Reports indicate Afghan civilians, ISAF service members and civilian contractors were wounded in the blast as the vehicle exploded near an ISAF convoy and other civilian vehicles," the report said.

"This is another attack by insurgents that injured the people of Afghanistan and our personnel who are partnering with the Afghan security forces to bring better development, governance and security to Afghanistan," a military spokesman said. "This attack will not deter us from continuing our important mission."

Britain's Daily Telegraph reported the soldiers were injured when the attacker driving a white car detonated his explosives.

"Three foreign soldiers have been injured, they are possibly American," the Telegraph quoted Kabul police official Abdul Ghasar Aayedzada as saying.

Although no one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, the entire country has seen a sharp escalation of Taliban violence since the August election.

Five United Nations staff members died last month when militants stormed into their Kabul guesthouse.

The latest attack comes a day after the ISAF reported Afghan and coalition forces killed several militants in a gun battle and detained a group of suspected militants in Ghazni province.

The ISAF Web site said those detained included a sought-after Taliban commander who was in charge of as many as 50 fighters.

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Judge clears man after 18 yrs in prison

NEW YORK, Nov. 13 (UPI) -- A New York State Supreme Court justice has ruled that a man who spent 18 years in prison for murder was innocent, officials say.

Fernando Bermudez was not immediately released, however, as the status of a sentence on a drug distribution charge that he pleaded guilty to after he was arrested in the murder case must be dealt with, The New York Times said.

The time served in state prison does not count toward his 27-month federal sentence, one of Bermudez's lawyers said, but efforts were planned to secure his release.

Bermudez, 40, broke down Thursday as Justice John Cataldo overturned his conviction and dismissed charges, a gallery of supporters sobbing and applauding. This was the 11th attempt to overturn the 1991 conviction.

Cataldo not only overturned the conviction, he dismissed the charges altogether, meaning Bermudez cannot be tried again for the crime, barring an appellate court reversal.

A year after Bermudez was convicted of murdering Raymond Blount, 16, after a fight inside a Greenwich Village club, five witnesses who had identified him as the killer at trial recanted, accusing police and prosecutors of coercing or manipulating them.

Several repeated their recantations in September at a hearing before Cataldo.