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.
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