Guantanamo detainee transferred to Morocco

The Pentagon has transferred Younis Abdurrahman Chekkouri, a detainee at Guantánamo Bay, back to his home country of Morocco.

“The United States is grateful to the Government of Morocco for its willingness to support ongoing U.S. efforts to close the Guantanamo Bay detention facility,” a Pentagon statement announcing the repatriation said Thursday

{mosads}Chekkouri was one of 52 detainees at the military facility cleared for released by an interagency review board but waiting for transfer arrangements to be made.

There are now 115 detainees remaining at the facility.

Chekkouri, 47, had been detained at the facility in Cuba since 2002, according to military files published by The New York Times.

According to those files, Chekkouri had co-founded the Moroccan Islamic Fighting Group (GICM) and served as the head of its Military Commission.

The files also claim he oversaw the group’s operations in Afghanistan, Syria and Turkey. He was also believed to have been a close associate of Osama bin Laden and played a central role in providing fighters to support al Qaeda combat operations in Afghanistan and terrorist attacks in Europe.

The administration has been trying to close the Guantánamo Bay detention facility and fulfill President Obama’s 2008 campaign promise.