US Transfers Alleged Al-Qaeda Suspect From Guantanamo Bay to Saudi Arabia

Dawn arrives at the now closed Camp X-Ray, which was used as the first detention facility for suspected al-Qaida and Taliban terrorists who were captured after the Sept. 11 attacks, at the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Cuba, on Nov. 21, 2013. Charles Dharapak/AP Photo

The United States has released and transferred an alleged al-Qaeda bomb maker from the Guantanamo Bay detention facility in Cuba to Saudi Arabia, the Department of Defense (DOD) announced on March 8.

Ghassan Al Sharbi, a 48-year-old Saudi Arabian engineer, was sent to his native country after the Periodic Review Board (PRB) determined that it was no longer necessary to detain him to protect against a “continuing significant threat to the national security of the United States,” the department said.