JERUSALEM (Reuters) - The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency is holding top al Qaeda suspects in a secret Jordanian jail where they are subjected to interrogation methods banned in the United States, an Israeli newspaper said on Wednesday.

But a Jordanian security official dismissed as "totally baseless" the story in the Haaretz daily, which attributed its information to international intelligence sources. A CIA official in Washington declined to comment.

The newspaper said at least 11 men held incommunicado in Jordan include Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged mastermind of the hijacked airliner attacks on New York and Washington, and Hambali, accused of being al Qaeda's ally in southeast Asia.

"Their detention outside the U.S. enables CIA interrogators to apply interrogation methods banned by U.S. law and to do so in a country where cooperation with Americans is particularly close, thereby reducing the danger of leaks," Haaretz said.