US announces single largest transfer of Guantanamo inmates
Fifteen detainees transferred to the UAE as Obama seeks to make good on campaign promise

Fifteen detainees are being transferred from the US detention facility in Guantanamo to the United Arab Emirates in the largest single transfer of inmates of Barack Obama's presidency.
The transfer of three Afghan citizens and 12 Yemeni nationals brings the total number of prisoners at the controversial centre in Cuba down to 61. Most have been there for more than a decade.
The US Defence Department said six detainees were unanimously approved for release by a prison task force. "Periodic review boards" assessed that keeping another nine prisoners was also not "necessary to protect against a continuing significant threat", the department said.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
"The United States is grateful to the government of the United Arab Emirates for its humanitarian gesture and willingness to support ongoing US efforts to close the Guantanamo Bay detention facility," said the Pentagon.
President Obama "has sought for years to make good on a campaign promise to shut down the camp and wants to transfer the final detainees to maximum-security facilities on US soil, but has been blocked by Congress", says The Atlantic.
Nearly 800 inmates have been held at Guantanamo since it opened in 2002. It was built after the 11 September attacks to detain terrorism suspects.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Who is actually running DOGE?
TODAY'S BIG QUESTION The White House said in a court filing that Elon Musk isn't the official head of Donald Trump's Department of Government Efficiency task force, raising questions about just who is overseeing DOGE's federal blitzkrieg
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
How does the Kennedy Center work?
The Explainer The D.C. institution has become a cultural touchstone. Why did Trump take over?
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
What are reciprocal tariffs?
The Explainer And will they fix America's trade deficit?
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
How should we define extremism and terrorism?
Today's Big Question The government has faced calls to expand the definition of terrorism in the wake of Southport murders
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Axel Rudakubana: how much did the authorities know about Southport killer?
Today's Big Question Nigel Farage accuses PM of a cover-up as release of new details raises 'very serious questions for the state about how it failed to intervene before tragedy struck'
By The Week UK Published
-
Terror on wheels: the history of vehicle-ramming attacks
The Explainer Cars and lorries have now become 'the jihadist's weapon of choice' but they've been a mass-killing weapon for years
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
DOJ charges 2 in white nationalist 'Terrorgram' plot
Feds say Dallas Humber and Matthew Allison were plotting assassinations through a terrorist network on Telegram
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Irish flight attendant breaks silence after 'distressing' Dubai charges dropped
Speed Read Tori Towey was charged with attempted suicide and consuming alcohol after being attacked in her home
By Julia O'Driscoll, The Week UK Published
-
The Red Army Faction: German fugitive arrested after decades on run
In the Spotlight Police reward and TV appeal leads to capture of Daniela Klette, now 65
By The Week UK Published
-
Attacking the grid
Speed Read Domestic terrorism targeting the U.S. electric grid is exposing dangerous vulnerabilities
By The Week Staff Published
-
Terror police probe uranium seized at Heathrow
Speed Read The radioactive substance was found during routine inspection of package flown into the airport
By Arion McNicoll Published