Washington: Ten Guantanamo prisoners lured U S guards into a cell with a staged suicide attempt, then attacked them with light fixtures, fan blades and other improvised weapons while guards fired rubber balls and used a grenade launcher to subdue them, U S officials said on Friday.
The officials called Thursday's clash the most intense outbreak of violence at the jail for foreign terrorism suspects at the U S naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, since it opened in January 2002.
Officials said six prisoners were treated for "minor injuries" and none of the U S guards was seriously hurt after the fight pitting 10 inmates against 10 U S guards.
The fight ended only after guards blasted detainees five times with a 12-gauge shotgun shooting rubber balls and used a grenade launcher that shot a blunt rubber object, officials added.
While guards were putting down the fight, detainees in nearby cells began rioting, destroying cameras used to monitor them, fans, florescent lights and other property, officials said
Human rights activists decry the indefinite detention of Guantanamo detainees and accuse the U S of torture.
But the Pentagon insists detainees are treated humanely and not tortured, and says many dangerous al Qaeda and Taliban figures are held there.
Details of the clash emerged on the same day that the United Nations top anti-torture body told Washington that any secret jails it ran for foreign terrorism suspects, along with the Guantanamo facility, were illegal and should be closed.
The U S has refused to give U N human rights investigators access to the detainees.
"The detainees had slickened the floor of their block with feces, urine and soapy water in an attempt to trip the guards. They then assaulted the guards with broken light fixtures, fan blades and bits of metal," said Navy Rear Adm. Harry Harris, who commands the Guantanamo facility.
The clash took place in Camp Four, a medium-security facility with communal living arrangements, Harris said.
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Army Col. Mike Bumgarner, in charge of detention operations, said detainees were jumping off beds on top of the guards and knocked some guards to the ground, adding "Frankly we were losing the fight at that point."
The guards used pepper spray, then the shotgun that fired 18 small rubber balls and the M203 grenade launcher to gain control, U S officials said. The fighting lasted four to five minutes, they said.
Earlier in the day, officials said, two other detainees, including one found frothing at the mouth, attempted suicide by swallowing pills, and they remained unconscious in stable condition.
"Detainees at Camp Four have the most privileges and are assigned to the camp when they have demonstrated continuous compliance with camp rules. However, we consider it to be the most dangerous camp because detainees have the opportunity to plan and act out in groups," Harris said in a telephone briefing from Guantanamo.
He added the guards had been conducting searches ordered after the detention facilities were locked down due to the suicide attempts when they saw a Camp Four inmate hanging sheets from the ceiling apparently preparing to hang himself.
Harris described this as "a ruse" to lure the guards in order to attack them.
"We trained for the possibility that a suicide attempt may be used by the detainees to create an opportunity to conduct an assault, take a hostage or kill the guard. In fact, that was exactly what was going on last night," Harris said.
There was rioting in three of five units at Camp Four. It took an hour to restore order and another hour to move detainees into a maximum security facility, officials said.
Harris described the guard force as showing "remarkable restraint in the face of considerable danger."
The Pentagon said "approximately 460 detainees" remain at Guantanamo. Officials said no detainee has ever died there, although there have been 41 suicide attempts by 25 detainees.
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