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Three al-Qaeda fighters in U.S. custody
Additional prisoners are held by Afghan forces and by Pakistan
12/18/2001
WASHINGTON – The U.S. military had three al-Qaeda fighters in custody on a
ship Monday and was hunting for more with help from Afghan tribal leaders.
As tribal militiamen and U.S. special forces pursued remnants of
al-Qaeda in the caves of eastern Afghanistan, the three captured foreign
members of the terrorist group were held with two Taliban fighters – an
American and an Australian – on the USS Peleliu, officials said.
"There are still any number of al-Qaeda loose in that country," Defense
Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said. "That is why we are there; that is why
we are chasing."
Pakistan also had dozens of prisoners it had caught fleeing Afghanistan
but couldn't turn them over to American troops because planned U.S.
detention facilities were not ready, said one defense official.
Mr. Rumsfeld said he had heard of an additional 30 or 31 prisoners who
were probably in the custody of Afghan opposition around Tora Bora. Many
of their identities remained unclear, so it was impossible to say
definitively whether any were high-ranking leaders, he said.
"It's going to take time and energy and effort, and people will be
killed in the process of trying to find them," Mr. Rumsfeld said.
Among those on the Peleliu was David Hicks, a 26-year-old Australian
captured while fighting with the Taliban, the Australian government said.
Mr. Hicks, who was captured about Dec. 9, was transferred to the ship in
the early hours of Monday morning, Australian Defense Minister Robert
Hill and Attorney General Daryl Williams said in a statement.
The Australian government was asking the United States to allow its
officials to interview Mr. Hicks, the ministers said.
Before the weekend, the only known person in U.S. hands was John Walker,
a 20-year-old American found with Taliban forces last month.
