Five percent of former detainees who were released from the U.S. Guantanamo prison have been confirmed returning to terrorism, said the Pentagon on Tuesday, according to Xinhua.
According to a defense department's report, among more than 530 Guantanamo detainees who have been released as of April 7, 27 or 5 percent were confirmed reengaging the terrorist activities, based on fingerprints, DNA, photos or reliable intelligence the Pentagon has gained.
An additional 9 percent, or 47 were suspected of doing so, it said.
The total number has more than doubled since May 2007, when the Pentagon said that about 30 had gone back to terrorist activity.
"What this tells us is, at the end of the day, there are individuals, that if released, will again return to terrorist activities," said Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman when presenting the report.
But he did not elaborate on reasons for the increase, saying "I don't know that I could put any one particular reason to it."
The report was released when President Barack Obama's administration was caught by a dilemma to close the controversial Guantanamo prison within one year.
His decision was challenged by Congress that demanded a detailed plan on how to deal with the remaining detainees, at about 250, and passed a bills banning the transfer of those terrorist suspects to the U.S. territory.
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