WASHINGTON, March 14 (Reuters) - The CIA this week transferred a suspected al Qaeda member with close ties to Osama bin Laden to the military prison at Guantanamo Bay, the Pentagon said on Friday.

The detainee, Muhammad Rahim, helped prepare the Tora Bora caves used as a hideout for bin Laden in Afghanistan in 2001, Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said.

Rahim also attempted to procure chemicals for a plan to attack coalition forces in Afghanistan and to recruit people with access to U.S. military facilities, Whitman said.

Whitman would not say when, where or how Rahim was initially detained. (Reporting by Kristin Roberts; Editing by Bill Trott)

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