CIA 'holding al-Qaida leaders in secret'

The CIA is interrogating senior al-Qaida operatives at a secret detention centre in Jordan, an Israeli newspaper reported today, citing international intelligence sources.

The report was published a day after the New York-based group Human Rights Watch said at least 11 al-Qaida suspects have “disappeared” in American custody and that some have allegedly been tortured in their undisclosed locations.

The Israeli newspaper Haaretz said the exact location of the detention centre in Jordan is not known, but that the al-Qaida detainees are believed to be held either at a facility belonging to Jordanian intelligence or at a secret military base.

Three Jordanian security officials said the Haaretz story was baseless, but refused to go on the record with their denial.

Haaretz said detaining the operatives outside US borders enables CIA interrogators to apply methods that are banned by American law. The newspaper said that in choosing Jordan as a site for the centre, the CIA also reduced the risk of leaks Jordan has close ties with the United States.

Haaretz said its sources are considered experts in surveillance and analysis and are involved in interrogating the detainees.

Since the war in Afghanistan three years ago, the majority of the detainees have been transferred to a US military base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. However, a minority were taken to Pakistan and from there moved to Jordan, Haaretz said.

Human Rights Watch said the al-Qaida prisoners who have disappeared are likely being held outside the United States without access to the Red Cross or any oversight of their treatment.

The prisoners include the alleged architect of the September 11 attacks, Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, as well as Abu Zubaydah, who is believed to be a close aide to al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden.