The CIA has run a secret prison for valuable al-Qaeda captives within the Pentagon's complex at the US naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, the Washington Postreported today.
Citing military officials and current and former intelligence officers, the newspaper said the CIA facility was built over the past year within a larger complex where the Defense Department houses "high-value" detainees and those awaiting military trials.
Officials said the CIA buildings were shrouded by high fences covered with thick green mesh plastic and ringed with floodlights, according to the report.
The Postsaid it was unclear whether the CIA facility was still in operation, but it cited sources as saying that detainees from Pakistan, West Africa, Yemen and other countries have been housed there secretly.
A US official who visited the base in recent months was quoted as saying: "People are constantly leaving and coming."
Officials for the CIA and the Pentagon were not available for comment.