Guantanamo prisoner charged in roadside attacks

MIAMI — The U.S. military is preparing for another war crimes trial at Guantanamo Bay.

Pentagon officials say charges have been approved against an alleged senior member of al-Qaida for offenses that include planning roadside bombing attacks against U.S. and allied troops and civilians in Afghanistan.

Abd al-Hadi al-Iraqi has been held at the U.S. base in Cuba since April 2007 and has been classified by the Defense Department as a “high-value” detainee.

A Pentagon statement Tuesday lists war crimes charges that include terrorism, murder of protected persons and attacking civilians. He faces up to life in prison on all but one of the charges.

A military lawyer appointed to represent him did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Two other war crimes cases are in pretrial stage.


(Flashback)
(NEWSER) – U.S. officials revealed yesterday they have Abd al-Hadi al-Iraqi, widely considered the architect of the 7/7 London transit attacks, in custody at Guantanamo Bay. The CIA nabbed al-Hadi as he tried to enter Iraq last year, and the announcement suggests—the Times reports—that he's been in a "ghost prison" since.

Intelligence analysts say Abd al-Hadi has captained al-Qaeda's operations in the U.K., including the 2005 attacks that killed 52 passengers on London's bus and tube. The Brits would like to talk to him, but may be stymied by American officials, who consider the former bin Laden confidant and Saddam general a "high-value detainee."

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