The Defense Department said Saturday it has released four Afghan detainees at the Guantanamo Bay detention center to their home country, President Obama’s most recent effort to reduce the detainee population toward his goal of closing the facility.
The names of the detainees are Shawali Khan, Khi Ali Gul, Abdul Ghani and Mohammed Zahir, the department said.
They will be given to the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, reducing the number of Guantanamo detainees to 132, including eight Afghans.
Administration officials say they worked quickly to fulfil Obama's request to return the four detainees. They had been cleared for transfer as a kind of reconciliation and an indication of improved U.S.-Afghan relations.
The facility in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, was opened in the aftermath of the 9/11 terror attacks.
The Defense Department said the four Afghans were released after the interagency Guantanamo Review Task Force conducted a comprehensive review, including whether they were a security risk, as directed by the president's Jan. 22, 2009, executive order.
U.S. officials also say the transfers are a sign of their confidence in new Afghan President Ashraf Ghani.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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