Six Hurt In Guantanamo Bay Brawl

Prisoners Injured After Pouncing On Guards With Makeshift Weapons

(CBS/AP) 
For several minutes, the detainees appeared to have the upper hand in the struggle, knocking some of the soldiers to the ground in a frantic struggle, Bumgarner said.

"Frankly we were losing the fight at that point," he said. But then, Baumgardner said, they authorized "engagement with non-lethal rounds" and used five shotgun rounds on the prisoners, Martin reports.

Outside, Guantanamo officials mustered 100 more guards before the quick reaction force gained control using pepper spray, unspecified "physical force," five blasts of a shotgun that fires rubber pellets and one shot from a non-lethal weapon that Bumgarner said fires a sponge-line projectile.

Detainees in two other units of Camp Four began damaging security cameras, light fixtures and other items in their rooms in a show of support for those engaged in the melee. Guantanamo officials estimated the total damage at $110,000.

Six detainees had minor injuries and no guards were injured, Harris said. The prisoners involved in the melee were moved to a higher security area.

"I believe that this was probably the most violent outbreak here," Harris said.

Also Thursday, the military transferred 15 Saudi detainees to their country, but Harris said he didn't think there was a connection. Authorities didn't provide the names or home countries of those involved in the attack or attempted suicides.

Guantanamo has had a number of protests and more minor disturbances since the U.S. began taking prisoners in its war on terror to the base in January 2002.

The U.S. military said 23 detainees carried out a coordinated effort to hang or strangle themselves in 2003 during a weeklong protest. A hunger strike that began in August has involved up to 131 detainees, the military said, though the figure has dwindled to just a handful. Earlier this year, Guantanamo officials began strapping striking detainees into a special restraint chair to force feed them.

Guantanamo officials said there have been 41 suicide attempts by 25 detainees and no deaths since the camp opened. Defense lawyers say the actual figure is higher.

Attorney Clive Stafford Smith said a client of his from Chad had attempted suicide twice in January and he didn't learn about it until March from another detainee. Before Thursday, the military said there had only been one attempt in 2006.

At least 12 suicide attempts were by detainee Juma'a Mohammed al-Dossary, a 32-year-old from Bahrain.

Colangelo-Bryan, who represents al-Dossary, said he visited his client last week and saw scars on his throat and the back of his neck from his most recent suicide attempt in March. The attorney, whose firm Dorsey and Whitney LLP of Minneapolis, Minnesota, represents three detainees from Bahrain, said he did not know if any of his clients were involved in Thursday's incident.