US Defence Secretary loses bid to reject 9/11 plea deals

US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin has lost his bid to reject 9/11 plea deals (Efrem Lukatsky/AP)

A military appeals court has ruled against US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin’s bid to throw out the plea deals reached for Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and two other defendants in the September 11 terror attacks, a US official said.

The decision puts back on track the agreements that allow the three men to plead guilty to one of the deadliest attacks ever on the United States in exchange for being spared the possibility of the death penalty.