The Biden administration has quietly shipped 11 prisoners linked to al Qaeda and Osama Bin Laden to Oman from Guantanamo Bay.
The Yemeni men had been held at the infamous Cuban facility for more than two decades without charge.
Two of the men were once bodyguards for Osama Bin Laden, and all of the men were captured in the wake of the September 11, 2001 terror attacks.
‘The United States appreciates the willingness of the government of Oman and other partners to support ongoing U.S. efforts focused on responsibly reducing the detainee population and ultimately closing the Guantanamo Bay facility,’ the Defense Department said in a statement.
‘Although different processes, each of the Yemeni detainees underwent a thorough, interagency review by career professionals who unanimously determined all detainees as transfer eligible consistent with the national security interests of the United States.’
It is the latest – and potentially the last – in a concerted effort from the Biden administration to clear Guantanamo Bay of such prisoners.
The transfer took place early on Monday morning as part of a covert operation to get the men to Oman, where they will be resettled, safely and without fuss.
It is unclear what the United States has agreed to, or provided Oman, in exchange for taking the prisoners.
The Biden administration has quietly shipped 11 prisoners linked to al-Qaeda and Osama Bin Laden to Oman from Guantanamo Bay
The Yemeni men had been held at the infamous Cuban facility for more than two decades without charge
Moath Hamza Ahmed al-Alwi and Suhayl Abdul Anam al Sharabi were both alleged to be bin Laden’s bodyguards, and al-Alwi is also an accused al Queda fighter.
According to a 2020 intelligence file, al Sharabi ‘may have been associated with an aborted 9/11-style hijacking plot in Southwest Asia.’
A separate intelligence file on al-Alwi from 2016 revealed he ‘has made several statements since early 2016 that suggest he maintains an extremist mindset.’
The other men who have been released have been identified as: Uthman Abd al-Rahim Muhammad Uthman, Khalid Ahmed Qassim, 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.
Two of the men were once bodyguards for Osama Bin Laden, and all of the men were captured in the wake of the September 11, 2001 terror attacks
The sultanate of Oman did not acknowledge taking in the prisoners early Tuesday. However, the key Western ally has taken in over two dozen prisoners in the past since the founding of the prison.
The transfer announced Monday leaves six never-charged men at Guantanamo, two convicted and sentenced inmates, and seven others charged with the 2001 attacks, the 2000 bombing of the USS Cole, and 2002 bombings in Bali.
Of the remaining 15 men in Guantanamo Bay, three are eligible for transfer and another trio to have their detention status reviewed.
