Judge orders 5 Guantanamo detainees released

A federal judge Thursday ordered the immediate release of five terror suspects held at Guantanamo Bay for almost seven years.

During that time, no charges had been filed against the five Algerian men, who were suspected of ties to al-Qaida.

In the first case of its kind, U.S. District Judge Richard Leon said the government’s evidence against the five suspects wasn’t credible because it came from a single, unidentified source.

Therefore, he said, the five could not be held indefinitely as enemy combatants.

The ruling is seen as a blow to the Bush administration’s anti-terror strategy.

However, a sixth Algerian captured with them will remain in custody.

The judge said there was enough reason to believe the sixth man had close ties to an al-Qaida operative and had sought to help the others travel to Afghanistan to join the terrorists’ fight against the West.