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U.S. releases 5 Guantanamo prisoners, sends them to Kazakhstan

Published  December 30, 2014 8:42pm PST
Associated Press



MIAMI (AP) — Five men held for a dozen years without charge at the U.S. Navy base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, have been sent to the Central Asian nation of Kazakhstan for resettlement.

The two men from Tunisia and three Yemenis are among dozens of men held at Guantanamo who have been cleared for release but cannot be sent home.

All five were captured in Pakistan and held in Guantanamo as suspected militants with ties to al-Qaeda. A government task force determined they no longer posed a threat.

A Pentagon statement Tuesday said the release of the five brings the Guantanamo prisoner population to 127.

Nearly 30 prisoners have been resettled in third countries this year as part of President Barack Obama's renewed push to close the detention center over opposition from Congress.