Prisoners hidden before Rice confesses

The CIA evacuated two secret terror prisons in Europe before U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's visit this week.

Current and former CIA officers speaking on the condition of confidentiality said 11 top al-Qaida suspects were moved to a new CIA facility in the North African desert.

It is also said all but one of the 11 were subjected to the harshest interrogation techniques in the CIA's arsenal, the so-called "enhanced interrogation techniques" authorized for use by about 14 CIA officers.

The European Union has asked the Bush administration for an explanation of a Washington Post report last month that said two Eastern European countries were the sites of secret jails and other city airports were used to shuttle prisoners around.

Rice met with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin Tuesday to discuss the claims.

Rice said certain terrorists require special treatment.

"The captured terrorists of the 21st century do not fit easily into traditional systems of criminal or military justice, which were designed for different needs. We have had to adapt," UPI quoted Rice as saying.

V.Y.