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 SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) - The number of Guantanamo Bay detainees participating in a hunger strike has more than doubled in recent weeks to 11, including five who are being force-fed, the U.S. military said Monday.
Military officials describe the hunger strike as an attempt to build public sympathy and opposition to the detention center, which on Thursday marks its fifth anniversary of existence at the isolated U.S. military base in Cuba.
"The hunger strike technique is consistent with Al-Qaida practice and reflects detainee attempts to elicit media attention to bring international pressure on the United States to release them back to the battlefield," said Navy Cmdr. Robert Durand, a Guantanamo Bay spokesman.
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