The man accused of being the main plotter in al-Qaeda’s Sept. 11, 2001, attacks has agreed to plead guilty, the Defense Department said Wednesday.

Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and two accomplices in the attack are expected to enter the pleas at the military commission at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, as soon as next week.

The U.S. agreement with the men to enter into a plea agreement comes more than 16 years after their prosecution began for al-Qaeda's attack, and more than 20 years after militants flew commandeered commercial airliners into buildings, killing nearly 3,000 people.

Families of many of the victims have said they wanted to see the men formally admit guilt. Pentagon officials declined to immediately release the terms of the plea bargain. The New York Times, citing unidentified Pentagon officials, said the terms included the men's longstanding condition that they be spared the risk of the death penalty.