Two inmates from the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay were transferred to Serbia on Monday as the Obama administration pressed ahead with its long-held goal of shutting the widely condemned facility at the U.S. naval base in Cuba.
The transfer of Yemeni national Mansur Ahmad Saad al-Dayfi and Tajik national Muhammadi Davlatov to Serbia reduced the number of detainees at Guantanamo to 76, with 27 of those approved for transfer once an appropriate country can be found, U.S. officials said.
"The United States appreciates the generous assistance of Serbia as the United States continues its efforts to close the Guantanamo Bay detention facility," Secretary of State John Kerry said in a statement, calling it a "significant humanitarian gesture."