Guantanamo prisoner from Mauritania back home after 13 years

MIAMI (AP) — Another prisoner has been released from the detention center on the U.S. military base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

The Pentagon says Ahmed Abdel Aziz has been sent back to his native Mauritania after 13 years in custody at Guantanamo. He is the 14th prisoner released this year amid a continuing standoff between President Barack Obama and Congress over Obama’s attempt to close the detention center.

Aziz was initially detained as a suspected member of al-Qaida with ties to some of the most senior members of the terrorist organization. He was captured by Pakistani authorities at a suspected al-Qaida safe house and turned over to the U.S. He was never charged with a crime.

The release of the 45-year-old Aziz was announced Thursday.

There are now 113 prisoners at Guantanamo.