30 More Detainees Arrive in Cuba
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Thirty more Taliban and Al Qaeda prisoners arrived Monday in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where they will be detained at a special high-security prison.
A spokesman for the Joint Task Force in Cuba said there were no problems during the arrival. After arriving, the detainees went through an in-processing system, said Major Steve Cox at the U.S. base. He said they are also being searched, given showers and undergoing a thorough medical exam.
Cox said the prisoners would then be questioned to see if they have any useful knowledge about Usama bin Laden's terrorist network. Later, authorities will determine whether they should be held for military trials.
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At the Pentagon, spokeswoman Victoria Clarke insisted the detainees were being treated humanely. She noted they were being provided with "culturally appropriate food," and will be inspected by an international Red Cross team later in the week.
The prisoners, shackled and with white caps covering their faces, shuffled in the darkness Sunday into a C-17 transport plane for the flight to the specially made prison at the U.S. military base. Two U.S. troops flanked each of the detainees as they walked across the tarmac in Kandahar, Afghanistan, to the aircraft waiting to take them to their Caribbean prison halfway around the world.
Unlike the first flight of 20 prisoners on Thursday, there was no gunfire as the plane departed. On that day, Marines responded to the pistols being fired from the perimeter of their base with return fire from assault rifles, grenades and heavy machine guns. That first flight took about 27 hours.
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"It was uneventful," Marine 1st Lt. James Jarvis told reporters of the plane that departed Sunday. "I think when they saw the firepower, they backed off."
Monday's delivery leaves 361 Al Qaeda and Taliban suspects behind bars in Kandahar, where coalition forces have established a base currently manned by 3,100 troops.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.