Khalid Sheikh Mohammed Asked CIA Captors if He Could Design a Vacuum Cleaner

Made request while being detained in Romania

The alleged mastermind of the 9/11 attacks, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, reportedly asked his CIA captors if he could design a vacuum cleaner.

The Pakistan-born mechanical engineering graduate made the request during a period of detention in Romania in 2003, the Associated Press reports.

A former CIA official told the news agency that he used online guides to re-design the household appliance.