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In reply to the discussion: BREAKING: U.S. Exchanges Gitmo Prisoners for U.S. Soldier Held by Taliban Since 2009 [View all]struggle4progress
(126,331 posts)By CNN Staff
updated 7:55 PM EDT, Sat May 31, 2014
... A plane carrying the detainees left the U.S. Navy base in Guantanamo, Cuba, after the announcement that Bergdahl, who was captured by the Taliban in Afghanistan in 2009, had been exchanged for the five men.
Saturday's transfer was brokered through the Qatari government, a senior Defense official said. According to senior administration officials, Qatar agreed to take custody of the detainees and provide assurances they would not pose a threat to the United States, including a one-year ban from travel out of Qatar.
Two senior administration officials confirmed the names of the five released detainees as Khair Ulla Said Wali Khairkhwa, Mullah Mohammad Fazl, Mullah Norullah Nori, Abdul Haq Wasiq and Mohammad Nabi Omari.
They were mostly mid- to high-level officials in the Taliban regime and had been detained early in the war in Afghanistan, because of their positions within the Taliban, not because of ties to al Qaeda ...
http://www.cnn.com/2014/05/31/us/bergdahl-transferred-guantanamo-detainees/