The Pentagon announced Monday that it has released 11 Yemeni detainees with suspected ties to al Qaeda from the Guantanamo Bay military prison in Cuba.
The detainees, none of whom have been charged with a crime, will be resettled in Oman as the Biden administration moves to wind down operations at the notorious detention facility.
“Although different processes, each of the Yemeni detainees underwent a thorough, interagency review by career professionals who unanimously determined all detainees as transfer eligible consistent with the national security interests of the United States,” the Department of Defense said in a statement.
The Pentagon noted that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin notified Congress in 2023 of his intent to repatriate the 11 Yemeni detainees to Oman.
“The United States appreciates the willingness of the Government of Oman and other partners to support ongoing U.S. efforts focused on responsibly reducing the detainee population and ultimately closing the Guantanamo Bay facility,” the DoD said.
Moath Hamza Ahmed al-Alwi, an alleged al Qaeda fighter and bodyguard for Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan, was one of the 11 men released.
An unclassified 2016 US intelligence file on al-Alwi warns that as a GITMO detainee, he “has made several statements