The US military shipped 30 more Taliban and al-Qaeda detainees to its naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, yesterday.
That brings to 50 the number sent there so far for interrogation before possible military tribunals on terrorism charges.
Two US military personnel guarded each detainee as they left Kandahar, Afghanistan, aboard a giant C-17 transport for the 12,800-kilometre journey, the US Central Command said.
"The detainees were shackled and wearing taped-over ski goggles and two-piece orange jump suits, as were the initial 20 who arrived on Friday," said an air force spokesman.
In addition, the detainees wore surgical masks over their mouths and noses, apparently because some had tested positive for tuberculosis, the spokesman said.
They were captured in the US-led military campaign that ousted Afghanistan's Taliban rulers for hosting bin Laden, prime suspect in the September 11th attacks that killed more than 3,000 people in the United States.
The British Foreign Office said on Saturday it had been told by US authorities an unidentified British national was among the first batch delivered to Guantanamo. The latest group is expected to land at the base today.