CIA prisoners to Guantanamo

2006-09-06 19:30

Washington - President George W Bush has decided to transfer 14 key terrorist leaders from secret CIA custody to the US military-run prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to be prepared for eventual trials, a senior administration official said on Wednesday.

The high-value suspected terrorists include

Khalid Sheik Mohammed, believed to have been the No 3 al-Qaeda leader before he was captured in Pakistan in 2003;

Ramzi Binalshibh, an alleged would-be 9/11 hijacker and

Abu Zubaydah, who was believed to be a link between Osama bin Laden and many al-Qaeda cells before he was also captured in Pakistan, in March 2002.

Bush was announcing the move in a speech from the White House, with families of those killed in the 2001 attacks in attendance.

- AP