Another Guantanamo Bay prisoner has been released as part of the drawn-out U.S. effort to close the detention center on the U.S. base in Cuba.
The Pentagon says Moroccan prisoner Younis Abdurrahman Chekkouri was sent home to his native country after more than 13 years at Guantanamo. A Pentagon announced was transferred Thursday after a security review.
The 46-year-old Chekkouri was captured by Pakistan in December 2001 as he fled Afghanistan with other suspected al-Qaida fighters and was turned over to the United States. He has been held at Guantanamo since May 2002 and has never been charged.
His release reduces prison population to 115, down by more than half since President Barack Obama took office and pledged to close the prison.
Copyright AP - Associated Press
