Guantanamo detainees transferred to Uruguay by U.S.

GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba, Dec. 7 (UPI) -- Six detainees held by the United States at Guantanamo Bay were transferred to Uraguay early Sunday morning, according to the US Department of Defense.

"In accordance with statutory requirements, the secretary of defense informed Congress of the United States' intent to transfer these individuals and of his determination that this transfer meets the statutory standard," said a Defense Department statement posted on its website.

The prisoners include four Syrians, a Palestinian and a Tunisian. They are the first from Guantanamo to be transferred to South America.

The Pentagon thanked the government of Uruguay for taking the detainees.

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"The United States is grateful to the Government of Uruguay for its willingness to support ongoing U.S. efforts to close the Guantanamo Bay detention facility,'' the statement said.

There are now 136 detainees remaining at Guantanamo Bay.

In November, Fawzi al Odah, a Kuwaiti regarded as a low-level prisoner and held for 13 years, was repatriated to the custody of the government of Kuwait. His transfer is the first under a new U.S. protocol of hearings, similar to that of a parole board, which reviews whether Guantanamo inmates need to be imprisoned.

Also in November, a Saudi man and former militant, Muhammed Murdi Issa Al-Zahrani, was released and transferred to a rehabilitation program, in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. In a statement, the Defense Department said the detention of Muhammed Murdi Issa Al-Zahrani "does not remain necessary to protect against a continuing significant threat to the security of the United States."

It is a goal of the Obama administration to close the prison, and the Pentagon has notified Congress nine other detainees may be transferred -- including the six to Uruguay -- by the end of the year.

The DOD listed the six being transferred to Uruguay on Sunday as: Syrians Ahmed Adnan Ahjam, Ali Husein Shaaban, Abd al Hadi Omar Mahmoud Faraj and Abu Wa'el (Jihad) Dhiab; Tunisian Abdul Bin Mohammed Bin Abess Ourgy and Palestinian Mohammed Abdullah Tahamuttan.