WASHINGTON, June 28 (UPI) -- The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 6-3 Monday that U.S. courts have jurisdiction over terror suspects being held at the U.S. base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
The ruling is a major blow to the Bush administration, which said the prisoners were beyond the reach of the courts.
The 600 or so detainees at Guantanamo are mainly Taliban fighters or al-Qaida suspects captured in Afghanistan.
Two Australians and 12 Kuwaitis captured during those hostilities filed suit challenging the legality of their detention.
A U.S. appeals court ruled the courts do not have jurisdiction of the detainees, but the Supreme Court reversed.
The high-court majority said the federal courts' jurisdiction extends to aliens being held in foreign territory controlled by the United States, even if this country does not have "ultimate sovereignty."
The Supreme Court did not rule on the merits of the detainees' cases, only that they have the right to bring them to court.
