Pentagon: Yemeni Guantanamo inmate cleared for release

Mahmoud Abdulaziz Al-Mujahid, a Yemeni citizen previously considered too dangerous to be freed, has been cleared for release from Guantanamo Bay prison, according to a statement by the U.S. Department of Defense late Thursday. The announcement came as the First Guantanamo Periodic Review Board released its results, noting that "continued law of war detention is no longer necessary to protect against a continuing significant threat to the United States and Mujahid is therefore eligible for transfer subject to appropriate security and humane treatment conditions." The 34-year-old Yemeni has been held in Guantanamo since January 11, 2002. He is suspected of being a bodyguard to the late Al-Qaeda chief, Osama Bin Laden, but he has never been charged. It is unclear when Mujahid may be able to return to Yemen, if at all. Dozens of other inmates who had been cleared for release in 2010 remained in the island prison, partly because of difficulties repatriating them due to risks they might face at home. According to the Pentagon, Mujahid now falls into the "conditional detention" category, meaning he will be released if "the security situation improves in Yemen and an appropriate rehabilitation program becomes available, or that an appropriate third country resettlement option becomes available." Including Mujahid, 155 men remain in Guantanamo Bay