Key Allegations Against Terror Suspect Withdrawn

"It's no coincidence that this happened when the judge ordered discovery," said Clive Stafford Smith, one of Mohammed's attorneys and the director of Reprieve, a London-based group that advocates for the human rights of prisoners. "It's clear they think that by dropping the allegations they can avoid having to turn over the documents."

Smith said Mohammed's attorneys would continue to insist in federal court that all documents be disclosed. The United States has allowed one of the lawyers to see seven of the British documents. Their contents are classified, and Smith and other lawyers would not discuss them.

The withdrawn section of the Justice Department's original filing deals with allegations that Mohammed planned "to launch a terrorist attack inside the United States." It includes details about alleged discussions by al-Qaeda members on using dirty bombs, using natural gas lines to destroy buildings and releasing cyanide gas. It mirrors the material in the military prosecutors' charge sheet.

"One of the purposes for the attacks on the United States was to help 'free the prisoners in Cuba,' " wrote military prosecutors.

Stripped of the core allegations, the government case focuses on Mohammed's training at al-Qaeda camps in Afghanistan. His attorneys don't deny that their client received training in Afghanistan, but they said he wanted to fight in the war-torn Russian republic of Chechnya.

Bradley, Mohammed's military attorney, said her client should be returned to Britain, whose government has asked the United States to release him.

Staff researcher Julie Tate contributed to this report.