Former bin Laden driver pleads innocent at trial

The first US war crimes trial since World War II began yesterday at the US navy base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, nearly seven years after the Sept 11 attacks prompted the Bush administration's war on terrorism.

Osama bin Laden's former driver, Salim Ahmed Hamdan, faces charges of conspiracy and providing material support for terrorism and could face life in prison if convicted by a jury of US military officers.

"This military commission is assembled," judge Keith Allred said after the potential jurors were sworn in.