Masterminds of Terror: The Truth Behind the Most Devastating Terrorist Attack the World Has Ever Seen

The story behind the headlines: here is the exclusive account--based on the only media interview ever given by the September 11 masterminds--of how Khalid Shaikh Mohammed and Ramzi bin al-Shibh plotted al-Qaeda's attacks on America.

The capture days ago of Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, a key lieutenant to bin Laden and one of the chief planners of the September 11 terrorist attacks, created headlines around the world. Now he is in US custody in a secret location, along with his accomplice, Ramzi bin al-Shibh. Based on the only interview these masterminds of terror ever gave to the media as well as extensive follow-up research, this book may be the closest we will get to the full inside story of the plot. While Mohammed and bin-al-Shibh were among the world's most wanted men and hiding in a safe house in Pakistan, they summoned star al-Jazeera TV reporter Yosri Fouda for a one-of-a-kind exclusive. Fouda knew he might well be walking into a trap, as Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl had done only months before. But he took the risk, and hit pay dirt. For 48 hours, Fouda listened as Mohammed, head of al-Qaeda's military committee, and bin al-Shibh, the link between Mohammed Atta and the senior al-Qaeda leadership, proudly claimed responsibility for the attacks on New York and the Pentagon--the first time al-Qaeda took direct responsibility--and detailed exactly how the plot was conceived and executed . Among their many revelations: the intended target of United Airlines Flight 93; the code names used by the hijackers; documents and souvenirs from Atta's Hamburg apartment; e-mail communications between Atta and bin al-Shibh, and the role both chief conspirators played in the slaying of Daniel Pearl. When Yosri Fouda broadcast part of this information on his monthly news show Top Secret on al-Jazeera, he created a sensation. Now here is the full account.

Nick Fielding is a senior reporter with the London Sunday Times. Yosri Fouda is the top investigative reporter with the Arab TV channel al-Jazeera. Both are based in London.