(AP) A U.S. Army general addressed prisoners here, urging patience while the government considers their cases and explaining the removal of some of the 299 men being held at this U.S. naval base.

Brig. Gen. Rick Baccus didn't specifically mention the departure of U.S.-born Yasser Esam Hamdi, who spent 53 days at this base in eastern Cuba before being flown on Friday to a military jail in Norfolk, Va.

"I know you are aware that not all of those who came to this camp are still in this camp," Baccus told the prisoners, who are being held on suspicion of having links to the al-Qaida network or Afghanistan's former Taliban rulers. "Some are being cared for at our hospital, others are in jails elsewhere. Each of your cases is different."

U.S. officials said they decided to move Hamdi after finding a birth certificate confirming he was born in Baton Rouge, La., where his Saudi parents once worked. Authorities have yet to decide whether Hamdi will remain under military control or be moved to a civilian jail to await criminal charges.

On Sunday, 11 captives lay in cots in their tented hospital, two being fed through tubes after a month-long hunger strike to protest their indefinite detention.

Guards also have temporarily moved an unspecified number of inmates to the base guardhouse, or "brig," where they are interrogated in isolation. Officials said four inmates were in the brig last week.

A team of Pakistani intelligence officers is to travel soon to Guantanamo to help interrogate the prisoners, Pakistani officials said Sunday on condition of anonymity. It was unclear when the team might come, and Pakistan's government has not officially confirmed the report.

The Pakistanis would bring special knowledge of the Taliban regime and the Pashtu language, which many former Taliban members speak.

Baccus' comments on Sunday were translated over the loudspeaker into Arabic and Farsi, and interpreters of other languages were on hand.

The general, who commands the detention mission, offered few hints about the prisoners' future, but opened his speech by saying "Peace be with you," and closed with "May God be with you."

He urged inmates to follow rules and said they would be treated humanely.

At least two prisoners shouted rebelliously during the translation in what appeared to be their native tongues. Asked to translate the outbursts, military interpreters declined to comment.

The inmates will be moved to a new seaside prison after workers finish building its first 408 cells. Baccus said it would be ready in about two weeks.

Officials then expect to resume receiving planeloads of captives. More than 200 are still being held in Afghanistan.