Biden admin secretly releases 11 al Qaeda-linked prisoners including two former bodyguards for Osama bin Laden from Guantanamo Bay
The Biden administration has quietly shipped 11 prisoners linked to Al Qaeda and Osama Bin Laden from Guantanamo Bay to Oman.
The Yemeni men had been held without charge in the infamous Cuban prison for more than 20 years.
Two of the men were once Osama Bin Laden’s bodyguards, and all were captured in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
“The United States appreciates the willingness of the Government of Oman and other partners to support ongoing U.S. efforts aimed at responsibly reducing the detainee population and ultimately closing the Guantanamo Bay facility,” the Defense Department said in a statement a statement.
“Although several processes took place, each of the Yemeni detainees underwent a thorough assessment by career professionals who unanimously determined that all detainees were eligible for transfer, consistent with the national security interests of the United States.”
It is the latest — and possibly the last — in a concerted effort by the Biden administration to clear Guantanamo Bay of such detainees.
The transfer took place early Monday morning as part of a covert operation to get the men to Oman, where they will be resettled safely and without hassle.
It is unclear what the United States agreed to, or Oman provided, in exchange for taking the prisoners.
The Biden administration quietly shipped 11 prisoners linked to al-Qaeda and Osama Bin Laden from Guantanamo Bay to Oman
The Yemeni men had been held without charge in the infamous Cuban prison for more than 20 years
Moath Hamza Ahmed al-Alwi and Suhayl Abdul Anam al Sharabi are both believed to be bin Laden’s bodyguards, and al-Alwi is also an accused Al Queda fighter.
According to a 2020 intelligence dossier, Al Sharabi “may have been linked to an aborted 9/11-style hijacking plot in Southwest Asia.”
A separate 2016 intelligence dossier on al-Alwi found that he “has made several statements since early 2016 indicating that he has an extremist mentality.”
The other men 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 Osama Bin Laden’s bodyguards, and all were captured in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
The Sultanate of Oman did not acknowledge on Tuesday that it had taken in the prisoners. However, since the prison was established, the most important Western ally has received more than twenty prisoners in the past.
The transfer announced Monday leaves six never-indicted men at Guantanamo, two convicted prisoners and seven others charged in the 2001 attacks, the 2000 USS Cole bombing and the 2002 Bali bombings.
Of the remaining 15 men in Guantanamo Bay, three are eligible for transfer and another three need to have their detention status reviewed.