'Harsh interrogation methods ordered by CIA against suspect'

The use of brutal interrogation methods against suspected Al-Qaeda operative Abu Zubaydah, including slamming him against the wall and confining him in boxes, was ordered by top CIA officials, media report said on Saturday.

The harsh interrogation techniques based on a highly inflated assessment of his importance had been ordered despite the belief that Zubaydah had already told the interrogators all he knew, The New York Times reported.

It said Zubaidah's interrogation began in Pakistan and continued at the secret CIA site in Thailand. Former US president George W Bush had described Zubaydah, who was captured in 2002 by Pakistani security forces, as Al-Qaeda's chief of operations while other top officials called him a "trusted associate" of Osama bin Laden and a major figure in the planning of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

The newspaper also quoted that Zubaydah provided valuable information when subjected to less severe treatment, while the harsher produced no breakthroughs.