The Biden administration has negotiated plea agreements with three of the five alleged Al Qaeda operatives held at Guantanamo Bay for their involvement in the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States.

The Department of Defense confirmed that prosecutors have entered into pretrial agreements with Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged mastermind of the attacks, along with Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarak Bin Attash and Mustafa Ahmed Adam al Hawsawi.

Specific terms of the plea deals were not disclosed, the Daily Wire reports.

According to a letter sent to victims' families by the Office of Military Commissions, the agreements would remove the possibility of capital punishment for the accused.

The news has sparked outrage among some family members of 9/11 victims.

Jim Smith, a retired police officer whose wife died in the attacks, expressed his frustration: "I feel like I was kicked. The prosecution and families have waited 23 years to have our day in court to put on the record what these animals did to our loved ones. They took that opportunity away from us. They committed the worst crime in the history of our country, they should receive the highest penalty."

The five suspects were initially charged and arraigned in 2008, and again in 2012, for their alleged roles in the attacks that claimed nearly 3,000 lives. The plea deals, if finalized, would mark a significant development in the long-running legal proceedings at Guantanamo Bay.