Voice Of Post

Guantanamo Bay prisoners, Five Yemeni inmates were freed from Guantanamo Bay prison at least six years after they were cleared for release, U.S. officials said Wednesday.

After more than a dozen years in captivity, the men, all in their 30s and 40s, were released for resettlement. Four men were sent to Oman, a sultanate on the Arabian Peninsula, and one to Estonia, an Eastern European country, the Pentagon said.

One of the men had been held since he was 17 years old.

Authorities approved the release of the men, captured in Pakistan as suspected al-Qaeda fighters, in 2009 or earlier. But they did not want to send the men back to Yemen, where the government is battling an Al Qaeda insurgency, and struggled to find a country that would accept them.

The latest release marks the first time Oman and Estonia accepted Guantanamo inmates.

The prisoners' discharge follows an ease in restrictions on transferring inmates abroad and an increase in releases.

"We are committed to closing the detention facility. That's our goal and we are working toward that goal," said Ian Moss, a spokesman for the U.S. State Department on Guantanamo issues.

Still, 54 of 122 Guantanamo Bay prisoners are waiting to resettle after being approved for transfer. At least 47 of them are Yemeni and face the same difficulty finding a country willing to host them.

Congress banned transferring prisoners to the United States, a restriction that has hampered efforts to close the detention center in Cuba.

On Tuesday, Republican senators proposed barring transfers to Yemen for two years and suspending the transfer of inmates previously classified at high-risk or medium-risk.

"Now is not the time to be emptying Guantanamo," Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.) told reporters as she warned of new terror threats.

Guantanamo Bay prisoners, Five Yemeni inmates were freed from Guantanamo Bay prison at least six years after they were cleared for release, U.S. officials said Wednesday.

After more than a dozen years in captivity, the men, all in their 30s and 40s, were released for resettlement. Four men were sent to Oman, a sultanate on the Arabian Peninsula, and one to Estonia, an Eastern European country, the Pentagon said.

One of the men had been held since he was 17 years old.

Authorities approved the release of the men, captured in Pakistan as suspected al-Qaeda fighters, in 2009 or earlier. But they did not want to send the men back to Yemen, where the government is battling an Al Qaeda insurgency, and struggled to find a country that would accept them.

The latest release marks the first time Oman and Estonia accepted Guantanamo inmates.

The prisoners' discharge follows an ease in restrictions on transferring inmates abroad and an increase in releases.

"We are committed to closing the detention facility. That's our goal and we are working toward that goal," said Ian Moss, a spokesman for the U.S. State Department on Guantanamo issues.

Still, 54 of 122 Guantanamo Bay prisoners are waiting to resettle after being approved for transfer. At least 47 of them are Yemeni and face the same difficulty finding a country willing to host them.

Congress banned transferring prisoners to the United States, a restriction that has hampered efforts to close the detention center in Cuba.

On Tuesday, Republican senators proposed barring transfers to Yemen for two years and suspending the transfer of inmates previously classified at high-risk or medium-risk.

"Now is not the time to be emptying Guantanamo," Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.) told reporters as she warned of new terror threats.