December 16, 2001	Sunday	Ramazan 30, 1422

WASHINGTON, Dec 15: American Taliban fighter John Walker Lindh is in US custody aboard a ship in the Arabian Sea, US Central Command chief General Tommy Franks said.

Walker is being held on the amphibious assault ship USS Peleliu, Franks said at a Friday briefing in Tampa, Florida.

“The determination has not yet been made” as to whether Walker should be handed to civilian custody or remain in military hands, Franks said.

“His status right now is that he remains a detainee, which means he is treated the same way we would treat an enemy prisoner,” under the Geneva Convention, Franks said.

Walker, 20, was captured after a bloody prison riot outside the northern Afghan city of Mazar-e-Sharif.—AFP