GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba, Jan. 18 (UPI) -- U.S. officials say they have released six Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, detainees from the prison camp, transferring them to other countries.
Four of the men were sent to Iraq, one to Algeria and one to Afghanistan, a military spokesman told CNN Saturday, adding that each been detained at Guantanamo for "several years" and none had been charged with a crime.
"The transfer is a demonstration of the United States' desire not to hold detainees any longer than necessary," U.S. military officials said in a statement. "It also underscores the processes put in place to assess each individual and make a determination about their detention while hostilities are ongoing, an unprecedented step in the history of warfare."
The six released detainees are among 60 suspected terrorists whom the United States has decided to release. In all, 244 detainees remain at Guantanamo as the government negotiates their return with their home countries, CNN reported.
Sources close to U.S. President-elect Barack Obama's transition team told CNN Obama plans to make closing Guantanamo a priority soon after he takes the oath of office Tuesday.
