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Former Taliban ambassador detained

More detainees brought to Kandahar

Former Taliban ambassador to Pakistan, Mullah Abdul Salam Zaeef, left, often gave briefings to journalists.

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (CNN) -- The former Taliban ambassador to Pakistan was detained Thursday by Pakistani intelligence officials, his secretary said.

Mullah Abdul Salam Zaeef was detained by men his secretary described as Pakistani intelligence agents, who came to his house in Islamabad around 1 p.m. local time and left a short time later with the former ambassador.

The secretary said he had no idea where Zaeef had been taken or why.

Until Pakistan closed the Taliban embassy in Islamabad in November, Zaeef was the Taliban's primary spokesman, giving frequent briefings for journalists.

Pakistan was one of three countries to ever recognize the Taliban as Afghanistan's legitimate government and it was the last to cut its diplomatic ties to the regime in November.

CNN also reported that 25 more suspected al Qaeda fighters had arrived overnight from Pakistan at the Kandahar airport, bringing to 225 the number of suspected fighters being held there.

A Criminal Investigation Division unit from the U.S. Army arrived at the airport to conduct interrogations of the detained fighters.

Pentagon sources also told CNN that a small group of the detainees could be taken within days to a U.S. Navy base in Cuba to reduce the security risk in Afghanistan.

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said Thursday the military is proceeding with using Guantanamo Naval Base as a place to hold some detainees. He said any detainees brought there would be transported by the military instead of U.S. marshals.

The sources have been indicating the detainees could start arriving soon at the Guantanamo, possibly as early as this weekend, but added if it is that soon, it would certainly be a small number.

The U.S. Southern Command, based in Miami, Florida, is building a detention facility at Guantanamo that sources said eventually could house as many as 2,000 prisoners and cost an estimated $60 million.

Rumsfeld said in case there are more detainees than Guantanamo can handle, there are other bases the military is considering using, including some in the United States.

As of Thursday, the Pentagon said that there are 248 detainees. Besides the 225 held in Kandahar, 14 are detained at Bagram, one is in custody at Mazar-e Sharif and eight are aboard the USS Bataan in the north Arabian Sea.

The International Committee of the Red Cross said the interim Afghan government had asked it to coordinate the return of 250 Taliban fighters to their villages. The government said it was releasing the fighters to go home.

Meanwhile, Pakistani tribal militia members are working with the Pakistani army along the border with Afghanistan to watch for any al Qaeda or Taliban fighters trying to slip into Pakistan. They said those speaking anything other than the native language would be under suspicion and could be handed over to authorities.

So far almost 200 al Qaeda members have been arrested by Pakistani forces in the Parachinar area, about 50 miles south of Jalalabad, Afghanistan.