From 2002, nine detainees who were previously Taliban prisoners were being held by the United States as enemy combatants in its Guantanamo Bay detainment camps at its Navy base in Cuba, as part of its War on Terror.
[citation needed] The Taliban took control of Afghanistan and severely suppressed the opposition, as well as providing refuge for militant Muslims, including Osama bin Laden.
[3] After the 9/11 attacks in 2001, the United States, with the U.S. Army and allied forces, including the Northern Alliance, invaded Afghanistan in effort to overthrow the Taliban.
"[3] The Americans captured many men in Afghanistan; they suspected them of being allied with the Taliban or al-Qaeda and transported them to a detention camp set up at Guantanamo Bay Naval Station for interrogation, in effort to penetrate terrorist networks and prevent future attacks.
"[3] According to the Associated Press, in June 2007 Commander Jeffrey Gordon, a Department of Defense spokesman, defended the Army's decision to continue to detain some of the men, although by then several had been released without charges:[3] Multiple reviews and designations have been conducted since each unlawful enemy combatant was captured, to include during initial detention overseas to lengthy procedures at Guantanamo.