Las Vegas Review-Journal

■ A once-secret unit within the Guantanamo Bay detention center has been closed. 4A

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WASHINGTON — A once-secret unit within the Guantanamo Bay detention center that had fallen into disrepair has been closed and the prisoners moved to another facility on the American base in Cuba, the U.S. military said Sunday.

The prisoners at Camp 7 were transferre­d to a facility adjacent to where the other detainees on the base are held as part of what U.S. Southern Command said in a statement was an effort to “increase operationa­l efficiency and effectiven­ess.”

Miami-based Southern Command, which oversees the detention center at the southeaste­rn edge of Cuba, did not say how many prisoners were moved. Officials have previously said about 14 men were held in Camp 7. There are 40 prisoners at Guantanamo.

Southern Command said the

Camp 7 prisoners were moved to Camp 5 “safely and without incident,” but did not say when the transfer occurred. Camp 5, which was largely empty, is next to Camp 6, where the other detainees are held.

Camp 7 opened in December 2006. The military ran it under an agreement with the CIA, and Southern Command said intelligen­ce agencies were involved with the transfer.

Among those held at Camp 7 were the five prisoners charged with war crimes for their alleged roles planning and providing logistical support for the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

President Joe Biden has said he intends to close Guantanamo, but that would require approval from Congress to move some prisoners to the U.S. for trial or imprisonme­nt.

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