GUANTANAMO BAY, CUBA 3 Afghan teens freed from prison camp

The boys are to be resettled into Afghan society.
ORLANDO SENTINEL
ORLANDO, Fla. -- Three teenage boys from Afghanistan whose detention at the U.S. prison camp for terror suspects at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, sparked an international outcry were freed Thursday, military officials said.
The boys, who were believed to be from 13 to 15 years old when they were brought to Joint Task Force-Guantanamo, were released after officials determined they no longer posed a threat to the United States, according to a Pentagon statement.
They were flown to Afghanistan, where they are to be resettled by Afghan authorities with the assistance of UNICEF and other nongovernmental organizations.
"It was our goal to return them to an environment where they have an opportunity to reintegrate into civil society," the Pentagon statement read.
Critics of their detention welcomed the announcement.
"The U.S. is doing the right thing by returning these children to their homes," said Jo Becker, child-rights advocacy director for Human Rights Watch. "At the same time, we're disappointed that it didn't happen sooner."
International outcry
The news last April that authorities had discovered children among the suspected Al-Qaida and Taliban supporters at the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay presented another target for international criticism of the already-controversial detention-and-interrogation operation.
The United States is holding some 650 prisoners indefinitely, the majority in what amounts to a super-maximum-security prison, without criminal charge or prisoner-of-war status.
It is unclear when the boys arrived at Joint Task Force-Guantanamo. But after medical tests determined that they were under 16, officials say, they were moved from the prison called Camp Delta to a separate compound set up to resemble a house and staffed by guards experienced in working with youth for a program of counseling and education.
The International Committee of the Red Cross called Guantanamo Bay an inappropriate place to hold minors. UNICEF, Human Rights Watch and other groups called for their release.
Capture details
The Pentagon statement Thursday offered new details of their capture.
"The juveniles were removed from the battlefield to prevent further harm to U.S. forces and to themselves," the statement read. "Two of the three juvenile detainees were captured during U.S. and allied forces' raids on Taliban camps. One juvenile detainee was captured while trying to obtain weapons to fight American forces."