WASHINGTON — On Monday, January 6, President Joe Biden's administration made significant progress toward closing the Guantanamo Bay detention center in Cuba, reducing its prisoner population by nearly half through the transfer of 11 detainees to Oman.

Following this transfer, the U.S. military reported that only 15 detainees remain at the facility. This marks a major step in the administration's efforts to shut down the detention center, which has been a contentious symbol of the U.S. "War on Terror" since its establishment on January 11, 2002, under President George W. Bush. Initially opened to detain terrorism suspects and "illegal enemy combatants," the center once held approximately 680 prisoners at its peak in 2003, according to Pentagon records.

The latest group of detainees, all Yemeni nationals, were named as Uthman Abd al-Rahim Muhammad Uthman, Moath Hamza Ahmed al-Alwi, Khalid Ahmed Qassim, Suhayl Abdul Anam al Sharabi, Hani Saleh Rashid Abdullah, Tawfiq Nasir Awad Al-Bihani, Omar Mohammed Ali al-Rammah, Sanad Ali Yislam Al Kazimi, Hassan Muhammad Ali Bib Attash, Sharqawi Abdu Ali Al Hajj, and Abd Al-Salam Al-Hilah. This transfer leaves the facility with fewer detainees than when it originally opened with prisoners from Afghanistan.

The U.S. military expressed gratitude to Oman and other international partners for supporting the ongoing efforts to responsibly reduce the detainee population and work toward closing the facility altogether. Of the 15 remaining detainees, three are eligible for transfer, while another three await periodic review board assessments of their cases. The rest have either been charged with or convicted of war crimes.

Guantanamo Bay has long been a focal point of criticism from human rights organizations and legal advocates, who have raised concerns about potential violations of international human rights laws and the conditions within the facility.

Disclaimer: This image is taken from US Navy via Reuters