One in five GITMO inmates take up terror again on being released: Pentagon

Washington, July 31 (ANI): According to the Pentagon, nearly one in five (18 percent) of the inmates housed inside the Guantanamo Bay detention facility in Cuba take up terrorist activities after they are released.

Though the Obama administration is considering the fate of hundreds of detainees on a case-by-case basis, there is a concern in defence circles and in the media that a majority of those who have been released, go right back to their former life.

According to the CBS, the latest figures compiled by the Defense Intelligence Agency show that 18 percent of more than 530 prisoners sent home or to another country are confirmed or suspected of what the Pentagon calls "terrorist activities."

That works out to nearly 100 former detainees back in the fight.

The so-called recidivism rate has increased most dramatically in the past two years, which suggests that the longer you are held at Guantanamo the more likely you are to return to terrorism.

Lawyers who represent Guantanamo inmates claim the prison itself - indefinite detention without being convicted of any crime - drives them to terrorism.

Some have shown up in al Qaeda videos and at least one has carried out a suicide bombing. Others are back in Afghanistan fighting Americans.

Defense officials expect the number of former inmates who return to terrorism to go higher before Guantanamo is closed in less than a year's time. (ANI)