DOD Document: Mohamedu Ould Slahi Swore Allegiance to al Qaeda and Coordinated Travel for 9/11 Terrorists

Press Release

U.S. Senator Kelly Ayotte today issued a statement regarding the announcement that Guantanamo Bay detainee and member of al Qaeda, Mohamedou Ould Slahi, was released to his home country of Mauritania, where he is reportedly not being detained. According to the unclassified Department of Defense (DoD) report that was provided to Senator Ayotte after her efforts for more transparency regarding the detainees held at Guantanamo, Mohamedu Ould Slahi was a member of al Qaeda who facilitated the travel of 9/11 hijackers.

"I am outraged that the Obama administration released a Guantanamo detainee who DoD said is not only a member of al Qaeda, but also aided the 9/11 hijackers who conducted horrific terrorist attacks on our country, killing nearly 3,000 innocent Americans. On top of that, reports indicate that Slahi is not even being detained in Mauritania. This deeply irresponsible move by this administration shows callous disregard for the federal government's chief responsibility to keep America safe."‎

According to DoD, Slahi planned travel for two 9/11 hijackers and Ramzi Bin al Shibh, a "key facilitator and coordinator for the attacks [on September 11, 2001]" who worked directly with Osama Bin Laden and Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.

In August, after years of leadership fighting for a commonsense terrorist detention policy to protect the United States, opposing misguided plans to empty and close Guantanamo Bay and pushing for increased transparency from the administration, Ayotte released an unclassified report from DoD that summarized the terrorist activities and affiliations of the 107 Gitmo detainees who were detained there as of November 25, 2015. At the beginning of October, Ayotte wrote a letter to the Pentagon addressing the administration's continuing lack of transparency surrounding the terrorist affiliations of current and former Guantanamo detainees.

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