U.S. Media: About a Dozen Guantanamo Inmates to be Transferred Soon

The Pentagon intends to transfer about a dozen Guantanamo Bay inmates soon, including a Yemeni man who has been on hunger strike for almost a decade, U.S. media reported.

The transfers come as President Barack Obama tries to overcome Republican opposition and close the controversial facility before his term ends in nine months.

According to a story first reported in The Washington Post late Wednesday, the Pentagon has told Congress it will move "nearly a dozen" inmates, with the first transfers due in the coming days and the rest taking place over several weeks.

Pentagon spokesman Commander Gary Ross declined to confirm reports. 

"However, the administration is committed to reducing the detainee population and to closing the detention facility responsibly," he said.

Among those slated for transfer is Tariq Ba Odah, the Post reported. He has been on hunger strike since 2007 and is force-fed daily. 

Ba Odah is among dozens of Yemeni inmates who cannot be repatriated because of that country's civil war.

In all, about 780 inmates have been held at Guantanamo, located on the southeastern tip of Cuba, since it started housing detainees in early 2002. 

Today, 91 remain locked up. At least 35 of them have been approved for transfer, meaning they can be released to another country willing to take them, assuming certain security and rehabilitation guarantees can be met. 

The rest face indefinite, ongoing detention.