Taliban Vow Revenge over Guantanamo Shootings

The Taliban on Thursday pledged to take revenge on U.S. troops in Afghanistan after guards at Guantanamo prison fired non-lethal rounds at inmates to quell unrest.

Guards at the U.S.-run prison in Cuba fired the rounds last Saturday to halt unrest as they relocated inmates into individual cells, U.S. military officials said.

Officials met with resistance from some detainees as they moved inmates from communal housing to individual cells. No detainees were seriously injured, according to the officials.

Dozens of detainees are in the third month of a hunger strike at the prison.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said his insurgent group would avenge the incident by attacking American troops in Afghanistan.

"The Mujahideen of the Islamic Emirate... vow to avenge these wronged prisoners by targeting the American invaders in Afghanistan with all might at their disposal, Allah willing," Mujahid said in the statement.

The spokesman also called on rights groups to condemn "such cowardly actions of America and take a firm stance against it based upon evident humane principles".

The jail in Cuba houses scores of prisoners, including former Taliban members captured when a U.S.-led invasion toppled the Islamists from power 12 years ago.