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Second wave of Afghan detainees comes ashore in Cuba

U.S. Lance Cpl. Patrick Distin on Sunday guards entrance of U.S. Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan.

(CNN) -- A military cargo plane carrying a second group of Afghan war detainees arrived Monday at the heavily guarded U.S. Naval Base at Guantanmo Bay, Cuba, boosting the number of Taliban and al Qaeda prisoners there from 20 to 50.

The 30 detainees were moved from the Kandahar airport detention facility in southern Afghanistan without incident, the Pentagon said.

They will join 20 detainees who arrived Friday at the base and are being housed outside in 6-by-8-foot chain-link cells until a permanent detention facility is completed. (Full story)

The interrogation of the first group of detainees has not yet started, Pentagon spokeswoman Victoria Clarke said.

The Cuban government said it did not have any security concerns about the presence of the detention camp, or the buildup of American troops to guard it. A spokesman for Cuba's Interest Section issued a statement offering to help with medical services and sanitation at the base.

In eastern Afghanistan, U.S. forces have completed their search of a huge al Qaeda training complex and knocked it out of commission with airstrikes, the Pentagon said Monday.

U.S. warplanes dropped nine precision-guided bombs on the camp at Zawar Kili in a three-hour period Monday morning after a weekend of intense bombing. The camp is near the Afghan-Pakistan border, and the bombs' impact could be felt in the Pakistani border town of Miram Shah about six miles (10 kilometers) away.

"We have leveled the remaining structures that were found on the surface, and we have closed all the caves that we would intend not to be occupied," Rear Adm. John Stufflebeem said at Monday's Pentagon briefing. (Full story)

VIDEO A moving tribute to the rescuers and survivors of the World Trade Center attack. (January 13) Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media) The U.S. Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, played many roles in the Cold War, and now is home for Afghan POWs. CNN's Mark Potter explains (January 13) Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media)   RESOURCES Gallery: Photographs of the Marines killed in Wednesday's plane crash in Pakistan. U.S. combat aircraft: KC-130   QUICKVOTE Tom Ridge says U.S. is "safer, stronger and more secure." Do you agree? Yes No View Results    CNN.COM SPECIAL REPORT  CNN NewsPass Video  Agencies reportedly got hijack tips in 1998  MORE STORIES Intelligence intercept led to Buffalo suspects Report cites warnings before 9/11  EXTRA INFORMATION Timeline: Who Knew What and When? Interactive: Terror Investigation Terror Warnings System Most wanted terrorists What looks suspicious? In-Depth: America Remembers In-Depth: Terror on Tape In-Depth: How prepared is your city?  RESOURCES On the Scene: Barbara Starr: Al Qaeda hunt expands? On the Scene: Peter Bergen: Getting al Qaeda to talk

Latest developments

• The U.S. State Department said it was investigating reports that an American citizen had been kidnapped and was being held hostage in Afghanistan. The department's Bureau of Consular Affairs was in touch with the wife of the reported victim and the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad, a State Department official said, noting that officials were taking the report "very seriously." The official said the department learned about the kidnapping when the reported victim's wife called its Office of Overseas Citizens Services after receiving a communication that a "local individual" had abducted her husband.

• The U.S. Embassy in Yemen tightened security and suspended most services Monday after authorities were warned of a specific and credible threat linked to al Qaeda, a senior State Department official said. The embassy warned Americans to exercise "particular caution" at U.S.-affiliated franchises and areas frequented by Americans. (Full story)

• Hamid Karzai will not do the "job alone" as the new head of Afghanistan works to get his country running again, Secretary of State Colin Powell pledged Monday. In an interview with CNN, Powell said the international community is ready to help post-war Afghanistan. "We didn't just ask him to take this job alone," said Powell, who is scheduled to travel to the region Tuesday.

• The Pentagon is considering a number of options to scale back combat air patrols that have been under way over the United States since the September 11 terrorist attacks. Sources said they think the review can be traced to a severe drain on U.S. Air Force personnel and aircraft, but they emphasized no decisions have been made regarding the patrols. (Full story)

• The bodies of several U.S. Marines killed in last week's crash of a refueling plane in southwestern Pakistan arrived late Sunday night at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware. A Marine spokesman said it was not clear yet how many of the seven Marines who died were transported to the base, where the Defense Department's mortuary is located. (Full story)

• The Bush administration must target Iraqi President Saddam Hussein next its war on terrorism, U.S. Sen. Joseph Lieberman, D-Connecticut, said Monday. Lieberman, who recently returned from a trip with other lawmakers to Afghanistan and neighboring countries, said the U.S. goal of containing Hussein since the Persian Gulf War has failed and more concrete steps are needed. He hinted broadly at the need for military action and said the United States should be prepared to act alone.

• Military sources in Kandahar said Sunday that U.S. forces are holding some detainees who had "plans to one day travel to the United States and kill Americans." Information and intelligence gathered in Afghanistan indicate a direct connection between al Qaeda fighters in custody and planned terrorist attacks in the United States, sources said.

• Al Qaeda militants practiced carrying out a mass assassination of world leaders and an attack on a motorcade, according to a video obtained in Afghanistan and broadcast on Australian television. The video showed what the network said were Arab, Pakistani and African fighters rehearsing hostage-takings and assassinations. (Full story)

• A federal mandate to screen all checked baggage will mean longer delays at U.S. airports, Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, said Sunday. The aviation industry needs more than 2,000 additional machines -- each costing $1 million -- to screen the 1.3 billion pieces of luggage to be checked each year. Neither lawmakers nor industry officials believe enough machines will be in place when the mandate goes into effect Friday.

• The high number of ticket sales for next month's Salt Lake City Olympics indicates people are confident it will be safe from terrorists, Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge said Monday. He said 90 percent of the tickets had been sold. Ticket sales did drop after the September 11 attacks, but only momentarily, Ridge said.