Pentagon misses Trump s Guantanamo Bay deadline

Washington May 2 (IANS) The Pentagon has missed a deadline set by President Donald Trump to come up with new policies regarding detainees captured on the battlefield and the transfer of those individuals to Guantanamo Bay according to a US defence official.

"The Department of Defence is in the final stages of providing a recommendation to the White House on policies regarding the disposition of individuals captured in connection with an armed conflict. This includes policies governing transfer of individuals to the detention facility at US Naval Station Guantanamo Bay " the official told CNN on Tuesday.

Trump s January 30 said Secretary of Defence James Mattis should "recommend policies to the President" on this issue "within 90 days".

Asked about the deadline Mattis told reporters on Monday that "right now I m not working that issue".

The US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces have captured over 400 foreign fighters during their campaign against the Islamic State (IS) terror group according to defence officials.

One of those detainees included a militant with links to the September 2001 terrorist attacks.

--IANS
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