A 20-year-old American captured while fighting for the Taliban in Afghanistan is being held by US Marines at a remote desert base south of Kandahar, the Pentagon has said.
With the Bush administration still determining how to handle the touchy case of John Walker, Defense Department spokeswoman Victoria Clarke told
Reuters
he was in the custody of the Marines at remote Camp Rhino in southern Afghanistan.
"He has been moved there in the past 24 hours and is under their control," she said. "His status is undetermined and he will remain in Afghanistan for now."
The Marine base is located at an airstrip about 55 miles southwest of Kandahar.
Mr Walker was found among 80 foreign al Qaeda guerrilla fighters who survived a bloody uprising at the Qala-i-Jangi fortress in northern Afghanistan last week. Opposition Northern Alliance forces then turned him over to the US military.
The Washington Postreported in its online edition that Mr Walker would likely receive a civilian trial, perhaps for treason, murder or conspiracy.
The newspaper cited unnamed Pentagon officials as saying they expect Mr Walker to be turned over to the Justice Department. "Down the road, at some point, civilians will likely be involved," a Pentagon was quoted as saying. "That time frame is unclear."
Mr Walker, known in Afghanistan as Abdul Hamid, converted from Catholicism to Islam at the age of 16 and traveled to Afghanistan from the United States via Yemen and Pakistan.
He has said he received combat training in northern Afghanistan from forces supporting al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. Mr Walker's father has pleaded for mercy following reports that his son said he supported the September 11 attacks on the United States, in which about 3,900 people were killed.
White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said on Friday the United States had still not decided how to handle Mr Walker's case. "The determinations are still pending," Mr Fleischer told reporters. "An investigation and review of the facts - that's being conducted by the Department of the Defense."