Washington - The CIA has transferred a suspected top al- Qaeda operative into US military custody at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, the Pentagon said Friday. Muhammad Rahim al-Afghani was a close associate of Osama bin Laden and was tied to al-Qaeda's networks throughout the Middle East, the Pentagon said.
The Defence Department did not say when or where al-Afghani was captured. He brings the population of detainees at Guantanamo to about 280, the Pentagon said.
Military authorities will treat al-Afghani according to the guidelines of the Geneva Conventions. He will also be given the chance to challenge his detention as an enemy combatant, the Pentagon said.
The International Committee of the Red Cross will be allowed to visit al-Afghani, as is the case of with the other detainees.
