AMERICA: Suspected September 11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed has confessed to the beheading of American journalist Daniel Pearl.

The admission came in a new transcript of a military hearing at Guantanamo Bay, released today by the American authorities.

In the original transcript, reported in yesterday's Evening Times, Mohammed claimed to have played a central role in 30 terror plots - including plans for attacks in the UK.

In today's new recording, Mohammed says: "I decapitated with my blessed right hand the head of the American Jew, Daniel Pearl, in the city of Karachi, Pakistan.

"For those who would like to confirm, there are pictures of me on the internet holding his head."

A Pentagon spokesman said it had held back the section of the transcript about Pearl's killing to allow time for his family to be notified.

Pearl was abducted in 2002 in Pakistan and Mohammed has long been a suspect in the slaying.