"I decapitated with my blessed right hand the head of the American Jew, Daniel Pearl, in the city of Karachi, Pakistan," he said in a transcript of the hearing, which took place last Saturday at the US naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

"For those who would like to confirm, there are pictures of me on the Internet holding his head," added Khalid, who used to be the No. 3 figure of al-Qaida.

His admission about the Pearl decapitation had been removed from an earlier version of the transcript released on Wednesday, because the description of the slaying was so specific and graphic that authorities wanted to contact Pearl's family before releasing details.

Pearl, the Wall Street Journal's South Asia bureau chief, was taken hostage in Pakistan in January 2002.

A videotape of Pearl's slaying was distributed, but the face of the killer who slit Pearl's throat could not be seen.

Khalid was arrested in March 2003 in a surprise raid by FBI agents and Pakistani security police at a house in Rawalpindi, Pakistan.

As the transcript shows, he claimed responsibilities for planning and funding 29 individual attacks, including the 9/11 terror attacks in 2001.

However, the 9/11 commission has described him as having a tendency to exaggerate the truth, according to Time magazine.

That reputation has thrown an element of suspicion on Khalid's confession.

At Saturday's hearing, he faced a judicial panel that will determine whether he will be held indefinitely.

The judicial panels, known as the combatant status review boards, determine whether detainees held at Guantanamo, shall be classified as "enemy combatants", who can be held indefinitely and are eligible for military trials.

Khalid was among 14 detainees who were once held in secret CIA prisons before their transfers to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, in September 2006.

It could be weeks before the outcomes of the hearings are known because the findings must be sent to higher authorities for approval.

So far, hearings for six of the 14 have already been held.