British ISIS Militants Could be Transferred to Guantanamo

Guantanamo, April, 2014. Photo made during an escorted visit and approved by the US military. (AFP / Mladen Antonov)
Guantanamo, April, 2014. Photo made during an escorted visit and approved by the US military. (AFP / Mladen Antonov)
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British ISIS Militants Could be Transferred to Guantanamo

Guantanamo, April, 2014. Photo made during an escorted visit and approved by the US military. (AFP / Mladen Antonov)
Guantanamo, April, 2014. Photo made during an escorted visit and approved by the US military. (AFP / Mladen Antonov)

Two British ISIS militants, members of a kidnapping cell dubbed "The Beatles" that was notorious for videotaping beheadings, could be transferred to the US military prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, US media reports said.

Alexanda Kotey and El Shafee Elsheikh were captured in January in eastern Syria by the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces.

If transported to Guantanamo, they would be the first detainees sent there since President Donald Trump took office in January 2017.

Trump has said that militants captured on the battlefield in Syria and Iraq, including Americans, could be sent to Guantanamo.

Last week he reversed an order by his predecessor Barack Obama to close the Guantanamo prison, which still holds 41 people.

Trump signed a crucial spending bill Friday, reopening the US government after a brief shutdown

The deal allows for $165 billion in additional defense spending over two years, helping Trump deliver on his promise to boost the military. 

Trump last year made a $5.1 billion “overseas contingency operations” request that included a provision for $1.1 billion in additional funds for a range of Pentagon projects, including “planning and design of construction projects in support of Detention Operations at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.”

Attorney General Jeff Sessions has been an outspoken supporter of continuing to use Guantanamo as a prison.



Germany Charges Syrian National in Connection with Taylor Swift Concert Plot

Singer Taylor Swift, left, takes in the third period in Game 4 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Final between the Edmonton Oilers and the Florida Panthers in Sunrise, Fla., Thursday, June 12, 2025. (Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press via AP)
Singer Taylor Swift, left, takes in the third period in Game 4 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Final between the Edmonton Oilers and the Florida Panthers in Sunrise, Fla., Thursday, June 12, 2025. (Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press via AP)
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Germany Charges Syrian National in Connection with Taylor Swift Concert Plot

Singer Taylor Swift, left, takes in the third period in Game 4 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Final between the Edmonton Oilers and the Florida Panthers in Sunrise, Fla., Thursday, June 12, 2025. (Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press via AP)
Singer Taylor Swift, left, takes in the third period in Game 4 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Final between the Edmonton Oilers and the Florida Panthers in Sunrise, Fla., Thursday, June 12, 2025. (Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press via AP)

Germany has charged a Syrian national with supporting a foreign terrorist organization for helping to plan a foiled attack on a Taylor Swift concert in Vienna last year, the prosecutor general said in a statement on Friday.

Identified as Mohammad A, the suspect helped the would-be attacker by translating Arabic bomb-building instructions and putting him in contact with a member of ISIS online, according to the charges against him.

Swift's three concerts in Vienna last August were cancelled after the government confirmed a planned attack at the stadium.

Police had been expecting around 65,000 attendees at each show, as well as up to 15,000 people outside the stadium without tickets, which fed security concerns.

The shows were to be part of the record-breaking Eras Tour by the American singer-songwriter.