Estimated read time: Less than a minute
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump says "122 vicious prisoners" released by the Obama administration from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba "have returned to the battlefield."
Trump didn't cite where he got the statistic in his Tuesday tweet, calling their release, "another terrible decision!"
On Monday, U.S. airstrikes against an al-Qaida-linked group in Yemen killed a former detainee who was released from the prison in 2009 despite earlier recommendations that he remain in custody because he was considered a "high threat" to America and its allies.
At its peak, the Guantanamo prison held nearly 680 detainees. It was down to 242 when President Barack Obama took office in 2009 and he got that number down to just a few dozen. Obama said the prison was a waste of money and a recruiting tool for extremists.
Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
