WASHINGTON, March 15 (UPI) -- The Defense Department transferred 23 Afghan and three Pakistani prisoners from its jail at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Cuba, the Pentagon announced Monday.
The prisoners are being released back to their home countries with no further legal action.
The Pentagon released five prisoners to the British government last week. All were released by the following day, against U.S. wishes.
The Guantanamo Bay jail holds roughly 640 prisoners, some captured on the battlefield in Afghanistan, others elsewhere.
"The circumstances in which detainees are apprehended can be ambiguous and many of them are highly skilled in concealing the truth," the Pentagon said.
Some of the prisoners have been held for as long as two years as "enemy combatants" -- a label that exempts them from the Geneva Convention protections conferred by "prisoner of war" status.
All told, 119 detainees have been released from the prison camp with no further action taken. Another 12 have been remanded to their home governments -- four to Saudi Arabia, one to Spain and seven to Russia.
