Pentagon declassifies terrorist evidence

LONDON, Aug. 12 (UPI) -- Five men Britain wants released from Guantanamo Bay are linked to al-Qaida and may rejoin the war if freed, U.S. Pentagon officials say.

“We have concerns that they will try to reconnect with some of their old counterparts and return to the fight in the sense that they will try to carry out attacks, whether it’s in England or elsewhere,” said Sandra Hodgkinson, a Pentagon spokeswoman.

Evidence suggesting the men are dangerous was declassified and released this weekend by the Pentagon just days after British Prime Minister Gordon Brown called for the men’s release, The Sunday Times of London reported.

The evidence shows one detainee was an interpreter for Osama bin Laden while another was a longtime associate of the late al-Qaida terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, said Hodgkinson. A third detainee is a Jiahdi veteran with ties to terrorist groups in Morocco, she said.

The men’s attorneys say the allegations are the Pentagon’s attempt to smear their clients and justify their incarceration at Guantanamo.