6 Guantanamo prisoners sent to Uruguay for resettlement

Washington: Six men held for more than a decade at the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, were sent to Uruguay for resettlement on Sunday, the Pentagon said, the latest step in a slow-moving effort by the Obama administration to close the facility.

The release of the four Syrians, a Tunisian and a Palestinian, who were flown to South America aboard a U.S. military plane, represented the largest single group to leave the internationally condemned U.S. detention camp since 2009.

President Barack Obama took office nearly six years ago promising to shut the prison, citing its damage to America’s image around the world. But he has been unable to do so, partly because of obstacles posed by the U.S. Congress.