Additional reporting by Suleiman Besharat, IOL Correspondent

CAIRO, October 23 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – US claims that former Guantanamo detainees joined fighting against its forces is a mere pretext to delay the release of the other detainees and dodge demands by human rights groups to unveil their detention conditions, an international law expert said.

A US military official said Friday, October 22, that 10 of 202 detainees removed from the infamous detention camp have once again taken up arms against US and coalition forces.

"Washington is only seeking justification for continued detention of people inside the notorious camp as long as possible," Prof. Ahmed Abul Wafa, head of the international law department at Cairo University, told IslamOnline.net.

"Such announcements aim at killing mounting demands by human rights groups to release Guantanamo detainees and improve their detention conditions."

The New York Times revealed on October 17, that uncooperative detainees in Guantanamo were regularly tortured by US guards and subject to coercive treatment.

"International law does not allow long-time detention for no reasons; hence Washington tries to find justifications for continuing detention of those prisoners under claims of maintaining its security," said the Egyptian expert.

The United States has been massively criticized for detaining at least 660 prisoners at Guantanamo Bay for years without pressing charges against them or given them access to legal representation.

More than 200 have either been released or transferred to the control of their own governments since the American Supreme Court endorsed the right of Guantanamo prisoners to challenge their captivity in American courts.

Fighting Again

The Pentagon said Friday ten former Guantanamo detainees have once again taken up arms against US and coalition forces, reported Agence France Presse (AFP).

"From the beginning, we have recognized that there are inherent risks in determining when an individual detainee no longer had to be held at GTMO and that the assessment process is not risk free," said Lieutenant Commander Alvin Plexico.

"Military reports indicate that about 10 of the 202 detainees that were transferred from GTMO have taken part in anti-coalition activities."

He added that some of those who rejoined anti-US activities were rearrested, others were killed and unknown number remain at large.

Another Pentagon official said among those rearrested was an Afghan minor who joined Taliban after his release from detention.

"He was recaptured participating in an attack" near Kandahar, Afghanistan, he added.

"We've said from the beginning, it's not a risk-free process," the Pentagon official said on condition of anonymity.

Amnesty International condemned  in May last year US breaches of international law in Guantanamo under the cloak of its so-called global war on terror.

The New York-based Human Rights Watch had called on the Bush administration to promptly investigate and address charges of torture of the Guantanamo detainees or risk criminal prosecution.