An aerial view shows only a small portion of the crime scene where the World Trade Center collapsed following the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attack. Surrounding buildings were heavily damaged by the debris and massive force of the falling twin towers. US Navy photo/Chief Photographer's Mate Eric J. Tilford/File 

US prosecutors reached a deal with 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the Pentagon said Wednesday, reportedly involving a guilty plea in exchange for avoiding a death penalty trial

The agreements with Mohammed and two other accomplices moves the long-running cases -- which have been bogged down in pre-trial maneuverings for years while the defendants remained held at the Guantanamo military base in Cuba -- toward resolution.

"The specific terms and conditions of the pretrial agreements are not available to the public at this time," the Pentagon said in a statement.

The New York Times reported that Mohammed, Walid bin Attash and Mustafa al-Hawsawi had agreed to plead guilty in exchange for a life sentence instead of the death penalty.

Such a proposal was detailed by prosecutors in a letter last year but divided the families of the nearly 3,000 people killed in the September 11, 2001 attacks, with some still wanting the defendants to face the ultimate penalty.

US remembers 9/11 attacks

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