Pentagon transfers 15 detainees out of Guantanamo

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — Fifteen prisoners at the Guantanamo Bay detention center were sent to the United Arab Emirates in the single largest release of detainees during the Obama administration, the Pentagon said Monday.

The Pentagon says 61 detainees remain at Guantanamo, which opened in January 2002 to hold foreign fighters suspected of links to the Taliban or the al Qaeda terrorist organization.

“The continued operation of the detention facility weakens our national security by draining resources, damaging our relationships with key allies and partners, and emboldening violent extremists,” he said.