The United States announced the transfer Sunday of five detainees from Guantanamo Bay to the United Arab Emirates as part of an effort to eventually close the detention center in Cuba.
The Defense Department announced the move, which leaves 107 detainees at the facility — inching President Barack Obama closer to his long-held goal of shuttering it.
Obama signed an executive order on his third day in office to begin the process of shutting down Guantanamo Bay.
The United States tries to find countries that will provide security against possible trouble from former prisoners and human rights assurances regarding the ex-inmates.
Six federal departments and agencies that comprise the task force reviewing the Guantanamo camp unanimously approved the transfer, the statement said.
Detainees from nations actively battling Islamist extremists — such as Yemen — are not released to their countries to ensure they don’t join terror groups there.
“The United States is grateful to the Government of the United Arab Emirates for its willingness to support ongoing U.S. efforts to close the Guantanamo Bay detention facility. The United States coordinated with the Government of the United Arab Emirates to ensure these transfers took place consistent with appropriate security and humane treatment measures,” the Pentagon said in a statement.
Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook said the United States had transferred Ali Ahmad Muhammad al-Razihi, Khalid Abd-al-Jabbar Muhammad Uthman al-Qadasi, Adil Said al-Hajj Ubayd al-Busays, Sulayman Awad Bin Uqayl al-Nahdi and Fahmi Salem Said al-Asani to the UAE government.
