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Hundreds of released Guantanamo detainees return to killing Americans, report

Sixty-six percent of the 229 have not been recaptured and remain at large.

Published: August 25, 2021 12:17pm

Updated: August 25, 2021 12:33pm

U.S. intelligence documents show over 220 former detainees at the United States' Guantanamo detention camp have returned to terrorism and are killing Americans, according a recent news report. 

Sixty-six percent of the 229 have not been recaptured and remain at large, according to a New York Post story published this weekend, based on a recent intelligence report and other government documents. 

The findings come as President Biden releases more of the terror suspects from the U.S. military facility in Cuba, after they were detained in connection with the 9/11 terror attacks.

Shortly after taking office, Biden reversed President Trump’s executive order to keep open the facility, where some of the most potentially dangerous detainees remain.

Last month, the president freed his first prisoner, accused terrorist Abdul Latif Nasser, leaving the number of remaining detainees at 39, according to The Post.

Ten others have been cleared for release, including some of Osama bin Laden’s bodyguards and 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed’s safe house operator, according to parole board documents reviewed by the news outlet.

Other detainees have appealed to the Biden administration through pro-bono lawyers for their release and a dozen other inmates are scheduled for parole hearings this year, documents show.

U.S. intelligence agencies say one-in-three released detainees have gone back to fighting against America and some have killed more Americans.

"Based on trends identified during the past 17 years, we assess that some detainees currently at GTMO will seek to re-engage in terrorist or insurgent activities after they are transferred," warned a recent U.S. intelligence report, The Post also reports. 

According to the December 2020 declassified report by the Office of National Intelligence, the 229 of the 729 detainees released from the facility have reengaged in terrorist activities.

Some of the repeat offenders have since died or been recaptured, but 151 – or 66% –  are still at large, document reportedly show.

At least 12 released detainees reportedly have launched attacks on U.S. forces in Afghanistan and killed about a half-dozen American soldiers and civilians, with the exact figure remaining classified.

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