KOHAT, Jan 3: A second batch of 30 Al-Qaeda prisoners was ferried to an unknown place from the heavily guarded Kohat air base in C-130 Hercules aircraft on late Thursday night, a highly placed source told Dawn.

The source said only those were being shifted whose interrogation had been completed by the FBI and Pakistani intelligence personnel. The remaining would be shifted from Kohat as soon as their interrogation was completed, which was expected to be wound up by the Pakistan intelligence personnel by Wednesday next.

The source declined to disclose the new destination of these prisoners. However, another source said they were being shifted somewhere in or near Quetta where more than 100 Al-Qaeda members were already detained by the US authorities.

The plane carrying Al-Qaeda members left Kohat air base at 10.20pm after remaining at the tarmac with its engines on for about 15 minutes.

The Pakistan intelligence personnel were interrogating 25 prisoners each day, whereas the FBI team had completed its investigations and compiled data about all the 139 Arabs, including two French nationals of Arab origin.