US To Transfer Dozen Guantanamo Inmates: Pentagon
KABUL: (MEP) The Pentagon has announced to move around a dozen inmates held at Guantanamo Bay to at least two countries.
An official speaking on condition of anonymity said, the first of the transfers were expected in the next few days and the others would take place in coming weeks.
Among those transferred will be Tariq Ba Odah, a Yemeni man who has been on a long-term hunger strike and has lost around half his body weight, according to the source.
Ba Odah’s lawyers had tried unsuccessfully to win his release on health and humanitarian grounds, but Pentagon officials said he was receiving proper care.
However, the military did not disclose the prisoners’ destinations.
The development comes as the latest move in President Barack Obama’s push to close the facility.
Some 91 prisoners are currently held at the prison at the US naval base in Guantanamo Bay.
Guantanamo Bay is located on an American naval base in south-eastern Cuba. Former US President George W Bush opened it to accommodate foreign terror suspects after the 9/11 attacks on the US.
