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| Version 2 | Version 3 |
|---|---|
| Four Afghan Guantanamo inmates sent home | Four Afghan Guantanamo inmates sent home |
| (about 4 hours later) | |
| Four Afghan detainees at the Guantanamo Bay prison have been sent back to their home country, the Pentagon says. | Four Afghan detainees at the Guantanamo Bay prison have been sent back to their home country, the Pentagon says. |
| Shawali Khan, Khi Ali Gul, Abdul Ghani and Mohammed Zahir were repatriated after a thorough review of their cases. | Shawali Khan, Khi Ali Gul, Abdul Ghani and Mohammed Zahir were repatriated after a thorough review of their cases. |
| Eight Afghans are believed to be among the 132 detainees remaining at the US prison in Cuba. | Eight Afghans are believed to be among the 132 detainees remaining at the US prison in Cuba. |
| President Barack Obama has pledged to close the facility, opened in 2002 to hold "enemy combatants" in what the US termed its war on terror. | President Barack Obama has pledged to close the facility, opened in 2002 to hold "enemy combatants" in what the US termed its war on terror. |
| 'Nowhere to go' | 'Nowhere to go' |
| "As a result of that review, which examined a number of factors, including security issues, these men were unanimously approved for transfer by the six departments and agencies comprising the task force," a Pentagon statement said on Saturday. | "As a result of that review, which examined a number of factors, including security issues, these men were unanimously approved for transfer by the six departments and agencies comprising the task force," a Pentagon statement said on Saturday. |
| The four Afghans - who had been held at the Guantanamo Bay for more than 10 years - were flown to Afghanistan's capital Kabul aboard a US military plane and handed over to the local authorities. | |
| The Pentagon provided no further details. | The Pentagon provided no further details. |
| Afghanistan's High Peace Council - a body set up by the government to deal with insurgents - said all four would be reunited with their families in the "near future", according to the Associated Press news agency. | |
| US lawyers for the former detainees had always argued that there clients were innocent. | |
| The repatriation is the latest in a series of transfers from the Guantanamo Bay, as President Obama seeks to eventually shut the facility. | The repatriation is the latest in a series of transfers from the Guantanamo Bay, as President Obama seeks to eventually shut the facility. |
| Earlier this month, six prisoners were flown to Uruguay, which said they would enjoy complete freedom in the South American nation. | Earlier this month, six prisoners were flown to Uruguay, which said they would enjoy complete freedom in the South American nation. |
| About half of the remaining inmates at the Guantanamo Bay have been cleared for transfer - but have nowhere to go because their countries of origin are unstable or unsafe. | About half of the remaining inmates at the Guantanamo Bay have been cleared for transfer - but have nowhere to go because their countries of origin are unstable or unsafe. |
| President Obama's efforts to shut the facility have also been stalled in part due to a reluctance by Congress, the BBC's Rajini Vaidyanathan in Washington reports. | |
| The facility in Cuba was opened a year after the 9/11 attacks in the US. | The facility in Cuba was opened a year after the 9/11 attacks in the US. |