Last UK detainee at Guantanamo is released

LONDON (AP) – Shaker Aamer, the last British detainee at Guantanamo Bay, has been released and is on his way back to the U.K., Britain’s Foreign Secretary said Friday.

Philip Hammond made the announcement as he traveled to Vienna for talks on Syria.

American officials decided last month to release Aamer, who had been held for more than 13 years. British authorities have been lobbying for his release since 2007.

Aamer, originally from Saudi Arabia, is married to a British woman, with whom he has four children, and lived in Britain for several years before 2001.

He was detained by anti-Taliban forces in Afghanistan in 2001 after the U.S. invasion and was handed over to U.S. troops. He has been held at Guantanamo since February 2002.

American officials have previously alleged that Aamer had ties to convicted terrorists.