FBI has questions for John Walker

SOUTHERN AFGHANISTAN -- FBI agents arrived at a Marine camp in southern Afghanistan to question its only prisoner: John Walker, an American who joined the Taliban, officials said Wednesday.

Walker, 20, of Fairfax, Calif., was found among Taliban fighters held at a fortress in northern Afghanistan after an uprising by the prisoners was put down in late November. U.S. officials have not decided how his case will be handled.

He already has been questioned by the CIA, and Marine Capt. Dave Romley confirmed that other, unspecified agencies have come to see Walker, who is being held in a heavily guarded green metal shipping container.

In Washington, a senior defense official told the Associated Press that FBI agents had arrived at the base to question Walker.

Walker has told his interrogators that al-Qaida was possibly planning an attack using biological weapons sometime before the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, another official in Washington said. But U.S. officials said he was likely passing on rumors heard in the Taliban trenches.

"It is hard to imagine how Mr. Walker could be in possession of such specific information or knowledge," White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said, though he added the government "does have concerns and that's why alerts have been made." American Muslims will generally celebrate the end of Ramadan Sunday morning.

The Marines are feeding and providing security for Walker as well as providing medical treatment for a healing gunshot wound, Romley said.

Meanwhile, the 1,300 Marines on the ground in Afghanistan for the last 18 days have increased their patrols around the southern city of Kandahar, the Taliban's former spiritual capital.

"The Marines are prepared to support opposition forces in Kandahar as required," Romley said. "Kandahar is becoming more orderly. Police are beginning to show up and watch traffic again."

He also said a small cache of weapons was found near the base by a roving "hunter-killer" team.

The Marines also returned a favor by airdropping 17,200 food packets around the Arghanab River on Tuesday, said a Marine spokesman, Capt. Stewart Upton.

A group of Marines passed through a village in the area about six days ago, seeking a place to cross the river that was shallow enough for a light armored vehicle that had a mechanical problem. The villagers tossed a large number of rocks into the river to create a bridge.

Since Marines patrolling at various times along the river identified the villagers to be in need of such humanitarian assistance, they decided to reward them for the help.

AUSTRALIAN CAPTURED: A 26-year-old Australian drifter who had been fighting alongside the Taliban was captured over the weekend by Northern Alliance troops, Australian authorities said Wednesday.

He was identified as David Hicks, a high school dropout, rodeo rider and international drifter who converted to Islam and also fought in Kosovo and Kashmir.

His father, Terry, a resident of Salisbury, a suburb of the South Australian city of Adelaide, told reporters in Australia that his son phoned him two weeks after the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States to tell him that he had joined the Taliban.

David Hicks was a "soldier of fortune," Terry Hicks said. He said he did not know where his son was being held but had been told by Australian officials that he had a leg injury.

"He's been a handful, a rebel, but not a troublemaker," Terry Hicks said. "He's got a bit of hot blood running through his veins. We call him Indiana Jones. He should have been born a few centuries ago with a sword in his hand."

- Information from the Associated Press and New York Times was used in this report.

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