Official: 4 Gitmo prisoners transferred to Iraq

[February 09, 2009]  BAGHDAD (AP) -- A senior Iraqi security official says that four prisoners have been transferred from the U.S. military detention center in Guantanamo Bay to Iraqi custody.

The security official says the men, Iraqis who were arrested in Afghanistan, have been interrogated by Iraqi authorities.

The official, who spoke Monday on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media, added that one Iraqi remained in Guantanamo.

The family of one of the prisoners, Hassan Abdul Hadi al-Jawhar, says the International Red Cross confirmed to them their son had been released.

Neda Abdul Hadi, Hassan's sister, said her brother disappeared in 1999 while doing military service and later they received a letter from him in 2004 saying he was in Guantanamo.

[Associated Press; By QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA]

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