New suicide attempt at Guantanamo Bay prison

Another inmate of the US detention centre in Guantanamo Bay has tried to kill himself, the second such attempt in as many weeks.

This week's suicide attempt was the 31st since the high-security prison opened in January 2002, Pentagon spokeswoman Lieutenant Commander Barbara Burfeind said.

She said the suicide attempt happened in the last few days but could not be more specific.

Twenty prisoners have tried to kill themselves, some more than once. None have so far succeeded.

Most attempts occurred this year, which officials and critics alike have attributed to the effects of indefinite detentions on prisoner morale.

Some of the prisoners have been held for more than a 18 months without being charged, having access to lawyers or indications of whether or when they may be freed.

US authorities are holding some 660 prisoners from 42 countries at Guantanamo on suspicion of links to the al-Qaida terrorist network or Afghanistan's fallen Taliban regime.

President George W Bush has named six prisoners, including two Britons and an Australian, who could be tried before military tribunals. The next step is for a chief prosecutor to draft charges against them.