U.S. to transfer four Guantanamo Bay detainees to Saudi Arabia in final push

Weeds and flowers grow near the fence at Camp X-Ray, a prison formerly used to house detainees at the U.S. Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay, March 7, 2013. REUTERS/Bob Strong

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States will transfer four detainees to Saudi Arabia from the Guantanamo Bay military prison in the next 24 hours, U.S. officials said on Wednesday, in President Barack Obama's final push to shrink the inmate population there despite pressure from the president-elect to halt such releases.

It will be the first in Obama's final flurry of transfers aimed at sending as many as 19 prisoners to at least four countries, including Italy, Oman and the United Arab Emirates, before Donald Trump is sworn in on Jan. 20.