The Pentagon has told Congress it intends to transfer about a dozen prisoners held at Guantanamo Bay to at least two countries, a US official has said.
The first transfer is expected to happen in the next few days and the other will take place in the coming weeks, according to the official, who declined to name the countries.
Among those transferred will be Tariq Ba Odah, a Yemeni man who has been on a long-term hunger strike and has lost around half his body weight.
The development marks the latest move in President Barack Obama's push to close the facility.
Some 91 prisoners are currently held in the prison at the US naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba - 37 are expected to be transferred by this summer.
The remainder face trial by military commission or have been classified as too dangerous to be released, but are not facing charges.
At its peak in 2003, Guantanamo held nearly 680 detainees.
Despite opposition in Congress from many Republicans and some of his fellow Democrats, the President is hoping to close the facility before he leaves office in January.
Mr Obama's closure plan, which he presented to Congress last month, calls for up to $475m (£336m) in construction costs for a facility in the US where several dozen of the remaining Guantanamo prisoners would be kept.
However, US laws bars such transfers to the mainland, and the administration has not ruled out doing so by use of executive action.
Officials have said the plan considers 13 different locations in the US, including seven existing prison facilities as well as six other locations on current military bases.
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