Detainees in Military trials resume at Guatanamo Bay Naval Base

US military commission proceedings against detainees held in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, were expected to resume yesterday the US said. Two "enemy combatants" as designated by the US governmet, Ali Hamza Ahmad Sulayman al Bahlul, a Yemeni accused of making propaganda videos for the terrorist group al-Qaida, and Canadian teenager Omar Ahmed Khadr, who is accused of killing a US serviceman while fighting for al-Qaida in Afghanistan, are the first detainees to be tried by military commission since President Bush established them after the September 2001 attacks on the United States.

The commission ruled that Bahlul may not represent himself because, under military commission rules, defendants must be represented by military defense counsel. Detainees also may secure private U.S. defense attorneys who have a secret security clearance, and may request foreign legal consultants, the US says.