The self-styled mastermind behind the September 11 terror attacks and four of his co-defendants face possible execution after telling a military judge at Guantanamo Bay that they wanted to plead guilty.

A US soldier has been sentenced to 100 years in prison for the gang rape and murder of an Iraqi girl and the killing of her family last year.

The only officer charged with crimes in the Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse scandal appeared in court today to face eight military charges including cruelty and maltreatment of detainees.

Lawyers for Private Lynndie England attempted today to throw out statements she made when first questioned about Iraqi prisoner abuse, including that guards were just “joking around, having some fun”.

A US Army soldier accused of murdering her two young children by drowning them in the bathtub at their home gave tearful testimony today before a court-martial in the western German city of Mannheim.