The Department of Defense announced today that it transferred 17 detainees from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba to Afghanistan for release and one detainee to Turkey for release. This transfer increases the number of detainees who have departed Guantanamo to 232.

This transfer includes 18 detainees found to no longer be an enemy combatant by a Combatant Status Review Tribunal.

There are ongoing processes to review the status of detainees. A determination about the continued detention or transfer of a detainee is based on the best information and evidence available at the time. The circumstances in which detainees are apprehended can be ambiguous, and many of the detainees are highly skilled in concealing the truth.

During the course of the war on terrorism, the department expects that there will be other transfers or releases of detainees.

Because of operational and security considerations, no further details can be provided.

Prior to this transfer, 214 detainees had departed Guantanamo - 149 for release, and 65 transferred to the control of other governments (29 to Pakistan, five to Morocco, seven to France, seven to Russia, four to Saudi Arabia, one to Spain, one to Sweden, one to Kuwait, one to Australia and nine to Great Britain). Two hundred and thirty two detainees have now departed Guantanamo. There are approximately 520 detainees currently at Guantanamo.