On Monday, the Biden administration announced the transfer of 11 Yemeni detaineesThey include two former bodyguards of Osama bin Laden, detained at a US naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to Oman, which has agreed to help resettle them, amid steps to reduce the population at the controversial military facility.
The New York Times reported that all of the men were arrested following the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and held for more than two decades without being charged or brought to trial.
He added, “The United States appreciates the willingness of the government of the Sultanate of Oman and other partners to support ongoing American efforts that focus on responsibly reducing the number of detainees and ultimately closing the Guantanamo Bay detention center.” Ministry of Defense He said in a statement.
Biden White House Sends $1.25 Billion in Arms Aid to Ukraine Ahead of Trump Transition: Report
In this photo reviewed by U.S. military officials, the control tower is seen at Detention Camp VI on April 17, 2019, at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Cuba. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)
The White House referred Fox News Digital's questions to the Department of Defense.
The 11 detainees were identified as: Uthman Abd al-Rahim Muhammad Uthman, Moath Hamza Ahmed al-Alwi, Khalid Ahmed Qassim, Suhayl Abdul Anam al Sharabi, Hani Saleh Rashid Abdullah, Tawfiq Nasir Awad Al-Bihani, Omar Mohammed Ali al-Rammah , Sanad Ali Yislam Al Kazimi, Hassan Muhammad Ali Bib Attash, Sharqawi Abdu Ali Al Hajj, and Abd Al-Salam Al-Hilah.
Ahmed Al-Alawi, an alleged al-Qaeda fighter and part of Osama bin Laden's security detail in Afghanistan, was one of the 11 men released, Reuters reported. New York Post I mentioned.
In 2016, a declassified document stated that Al-Alawi made several statements indicating that he “maintains an extremist mentality.”
Anam Al-Sharabi, another bin Laden bodyguard, was also released. A file declassified in 2020 stated that he was bin Laden's bodyguard and trained in Afghanistan before the September 11 attacks.
He also “may have been linked to a September 11-style kidnapping in southwest Asia led by Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the head of Al Qaeda's foreign operations.”
Detainees prepare for evening prayer on March 4, 2002 at Camp X-ray in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, heading toward Mecca. (Peter Muhly/AFP via Getty Images)
The transfer was carried out as part of a covert operation early in the morning on Monday, days before Mohammed, Guantanamo's worst prisoner, was scheduled to plead guilty to planning the September 11, 2001, attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people in exchange for their release. He was sentenced to life in prison rather than facing the death penalty, The Times reported.
This deal given to Muhammad and his co-conspirators Walid bin Attash and Mustafa Al-Hawsawi was severely criticized by Republicans and families of September 11.
The move has been in the works for almost three years after the initial plan to make the move in October 2023 faced opposition from Lawmakers in Congress.
Judge reinstates controversial 9/11 terror plea deals involving Khalid Sheikh Mohammed: report
In this photo taken on April 17, 2019, a control tower is visible through razor wire inside the Camp VI detention facility at the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Cuba. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)
The authorities did not explain why the detainees were handed over to Oman, one of the most stable US allies in the Middle East, or what it provided to the host country.
Among the men included in the latest transfer was Shaqawi Al-Hajj, who underwent repeated hunger strikes and was hospitalized at Guantanamo in protest after spending 21 years in prison.
Their release brings the total number of men detained at Guantanamo to just 15, the lowest number since 2002, the year the prison was converted into a detention site to house men from around the world captured in connection with the “war on terror.”
The transfer leaves six never-charged men still held at Guantanamo, two convicted and sentenced prisoners, and seven others accused of the 2001 attacks, the 2000 bombing of the USS Cole, and the 2002 Bali bombings.
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed is being held at Guantanamo Bay. (Getty Images)
Most of those in Guantanamo are like that From Yemena war-torn country now dominated by Iran-backed Houthi rebels.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
