Bay inmates were on the State Department's most wanted list with $5 million rewards for finding them

Security experts today warn that freeing more Guantanamo Bay inmates risks creating more terrorists intent on harming the United States.

They warned that a push to release significant numbers could see more becoming like the t wo who were freed, went through a Saudi Arabian 'rehab program' and became among the world's most wanted men.

The State Department put a $5 million price on the heads of Othman al Ghamdi and Ibrahim al Rubaysh, who became leaders of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula after they were freed.

The two have been listed as wanted since 2009 - and now a former Pentagon spokesman is warning that if the president goes through with plans to move up to 19 more Guantanamo inmates before he leaves office, others will join the jihad.

Both are thought to have been killed - although the State Department has not confirmed their deaths, and continues to list them among its most wanted.

Al Ghamdi and al Rubaysh were both 'graduates' of the Saudi Arabia 'rehabilitation program' which is expected to house the four ex-Guantanamo Bay inmates released by the Obama administration last week - and which could take more before next week.

It has a history of churning out 'graduates' who went on to join terror groups and plot violent attacks against the West. It

Wanted: The State Department offered $5 million each for information leading to the discovery of Othman al Ghamdi (left) and Ibrahim al Rubaysh (right). Both were Guantanamo inmates

Running-down: President Obama freed four Yemeni inmates from Guantanamo last week and a military source told DailyMail.com more are possible before he quits office

Most wanted: How the State Department offered millions to bring the former Guantanamo Bay inmates - who are now senior terrorists - to justice. Although there have been reports of their death, they remain unconfirmed

CONGRESSMAN'S TRANSFER WARNING A key U.S. lawmaker warned that new intelligence shows former detainees released recently from the Guantanamo Bay detention center are trying to return to terrorism. In a letter to President Obama, House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce, said his committee had received a "troubling new report" from the U.S. intelligence community about detainees recently transferred to foreign countries. He said the report also showed that detainees were recently transferred to a country poorly equipped to stop them from returning to battle. 'In light of this dangerous revelation, I again ask that you immediately halt all transfers from Guantanamo Bay and take steps to secure former detainees who pose a threat to U.S. national security,' Royce said. The White House's National Security Council didn't comment on the letter. Although Royce argued the recently released detainees were part of a broader pattern of former Guantanamo detainees pursuing a return to terrorism and posing a continuing threat to the U.S., the Obama administration had disputed that charge. Royce didn't name the country to which the detainees were transferred, and his office declined to provide more details, citing the classified nature of the intelligence report. In recent months detainees have been sent to Saudi Arabia, Camp Verde, Mauritania and the United Arab Emirates. Royce sent a copy of his letter to President-elect Trump. Advertisement

The Obama administration announced last week that it would transfer four long-time detainees to Saudi Arabia as part of President Obama's plan to remove up to 22 accused terrorists from Guantanamo before he leaves office.

DailyMail.com also learned that the total released before Obama quits next week could be as high as 23.

But national security experts say the decision to release these detainees could have deadly consequences for the U.S. and western allies.

'Ex-Gitmo detainees have killed Americans and our allies - releasing more will almost certainly produce the same results,' J.D. Gordon, a former Pentagon spokesman, told Dailymail.com.

Gordon, who also advised the Trump campaign on national security, said the Saudi program 'resembles a holiday resort with graduates rewarded with brides and cars.

'Though it claims only about 20 per cent return to terrorism, even one detainee can be extremely dangerous,' he said.

The Saudi rehabilitation center – officially known as the Prince Mohammed bin Naif Counseling and Care Center – aims to 'reprogram' hardened terrorists through a program of counselling and religious and cultural seminars.

The program has two locations in Riyadh and Jeddah. Last year, it graduated 154 militants who 'underwent courses in counseling and a review of terrorist, deviant thought and extremist ideas' and 'now qualify to be integrated in society.'

Attendees spend 15 hours a week studying Sharia law, six hours on social events, five in psychological therapy, five studying history, five in art classes, and 12 hours playing sports. There is no set graduation time, but on average they spend about three months in the program before they are deemed eligible to reintegrate into society.

One of the program's graduates was Said al Shihri, who was transferred from Guantanamo Bay to Saudi Arabia in November 2007.

Freed: Abdullah al Shabli, 39, went to Afghanistan from Yemen up to two years before 9/11 and may have received advanced training in a camp there. He was captured as al Qaeda forces fled Tora Bora and was detained at Guantanamo since 2002 until last week

Freed: Salem Ahmed Hadi, 40, was a sub-commander in bin Laden's '55th Arab Brigade', his handpicked fighting force, when he was captured in autumn 2001 and was sent to Guantanamo Bay in 2002

Freed: Ex-inmate Muhammad abu Ghanim was freed from Guantanamo Bay last week. This was his welcome to Saudi Arabia. In 2010 he was deemed 'too dangerous to transfer' by President Obama's Guantanamo review task force

Freed: Mohammed Bawazir, who is 35 or 36, was welcomed at Riyadh. The Yemeni fought with bin Laden's Arab forces in Afghanistan as well as the Taliban itself and had been in Guantanamo since 2002.

Welcome back: Family members of the Guantanamo Bay detainees freed last week were on hand to welcome them at a ceremony in Riyahd, Saudi Arabia

After spending about two months in the rehab, al Shihri ditched his wife, his unborn child, and a 3,000-riyal-a-month honorary paycheck from the Saudi government in Riyadh. He fled to Yemen, where he co-founded al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP).

AQAP is believed to now be the most active branch of al Qaeda. It has taken responsibility for the Charlie Hebdo shooting, which killed 11 in France, and a 2012 suicide bombing of a Yemen military parade that killed over 120 people.

From Yemen, al Shihri helped orchestrate a number of international terror plots – including the failed Christmas Day underwear bombing and the 2008 U.S. embassy bombing in Sana – before he was killed in a US drone strike in 2012.

His brother, Yussuf al Shihri, was also a former Guantanamo inmate who attended the Saudi rehabilitation center. He was killed by Saudi police in 2009 while attempting to carry out a suicide bombing.

Although the U.S. government claims it will only transfer detainees out of Guantanamo if there is a 'feasible' security and reintegration plan in place, officials have completely lost track of some former inmates who were sent to Saudi Arabia.

The State Department offered a $5 million bounty to locate two terror leaders -- Othman al Ghamdi and Ibrahim al Rubaysh – who went through the rehab program and are now senior officials in AQAP.

It is still available, but not promoted, amid reports of both their deaths, Ghamdi possibly in a drone strike in September 2015.

The same goes for the Saudi Arabian government, whose 2009 Most Wanted Terrorist list contained 11 former Guantanamo Bay inmates who attended the rehab program.

'Transfers to Saudi Arabia have given AQAP a big chunk of its leadership,' said Thomas Joscelyn, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.

Rehab: The Saudi rehabilitation center – officially known as the Prince Mohammed bin Naif Counseling and Care Center – aims to 'reprogram' hardened terrorists

Facilities: Attendees spend 15 hours a week studying Sharia law, six hours on social events, five in psychological therapy, five studying history, five in art classes, and 12 hours playing sports, with facilities on site for their recreation

Talks: The program has two locations in Riyadh and Jeddah. Last year, it graduated 154 militants who 'underwent courses in counseling and a review of terrorist, deviant thought and extremist ideas' and 'now qualify to be integrated in society.'

Saudi Arabia publicly estimates that around 20 percent of its rehabilitation program attendees return to terrorism. Over 130 former Guantanamo detainees have been sent through the rehab. According to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, about 122 total former detainees are believed to have returned to terrorism, out of nearly 700 total released since the Bush administration.

Joscelyn said the Saudi rehab was not initially designed to rehabilitate Guantanamo Bay detainees, which could account for the high recidivism rate.

'The program was more geared to people who were further down the extremist ladder, that hadn't really gone the full al Qaeda yet,' he said. 'This program originally was not well-suited for seasoned al Qaeda operatives.'

Rehab attendees also aren't treated like seasoned al Qaeda operatives. The former Guantanamo Bay detainees are ceremoniously welcomed to Saudi Arabia on a private government plane, often with family members greeting them on the tarmac.

They live at the resort-like rehab camps in Riyadh and Jeddah during the three-month program, which offers recreational activities such as swimming pools and art classes – and even hotel suites for conjugal visits.

Participants spend the bulk of their therapy time studying Sharia – Islamic law – and are also taught workplace skills and 'positive thinking.'

The government will even buy brides for the unmarried ex-detainees – a pricey gift in Saudi Arabia, where the cost of arranged marriages can reportedly top $18,000.

After graduating from the center, the former detainees and their families often receive financial support from the Saudi government, covering their food, home costs and other living expenses.

The Saudis receive some benefits in return. Joscelyn said there are indications that they are using the program for intelligence gathering purposes.

Underwear bomber: Nigerian Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab was an AQAP terrorist when he tried to blow up a plane to the United States with a bomb hidden in his underwear

Terror in the air: AQAP terrorist Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab as he was arrested at Detroit after his failed underwear bomb

Attempt at terror: AQAP has been behind a series of attacks, including the use of the underwear bomb

Several Guantanamo Bay detainees who graduated from the rehab fled to Yemen to join AQAP – but soon after 'turned themselves in' to Saudi officials.

Abu Hareth Muhammad al Oufi was transferred to Saudi Arabia from Guantanamo in 2007, and two years later appeared in an AQAP video in Yemen.

But soon after, he voluntarily surrendered to Saudi authorities. Another former Guantanamo detainee, Jaber al Faifi briefly rejoined al Qaeda before turning himself in to the Saudis and supposedly tipped them off to a terrorist bomb plot.

'Saudi Arabia has definitely played a role in infiltrating AQAP and trying to get human intelligence on AQAP,' said Joscelyn.

'They appear to have used some of these guys who played that role for them, either by design or the Saudis have been able to manipulate them to do that.'

One current Guantanamo prisoner, Ghassan Abdullah al Sharbi, blasted the Saudi rehabilitation program during a recently-declassified interview with US officials, claiming it's all a sham to convince attendees to fight for jihad on behalf of the Saudi government.

'There is a strong...de-radicalization program, but make no mistake, underneath there is a hidden radicalization program,' said al-Sharbi in an interview with an administrative review board at Guantanamo.

He claimed Saudi Arabia used to rehab to recruit former detainees to rejoin terror groups approved by the kingdom.

'When they release you they wanna make sure that you're still under that cloak and they got you to fight their jihad in their regions and in the States,' he said.

The checkered history of the Saudi rehab program is also raising concerns with counterterrorism experts due to the 'dangerous' backgrounds of some of the latest Guantanamo transfers.

Two of the Guantanamo Bay detainees transferred to Saudi Arabia last week were deemed 'too dangerous to transfer' by President Obama's Guantanamo review task force in 2010 – with one of them being described by reviewers as an 'extremist' who continued to 'praise terrorist groups' just over a year ago.

Salem bin Kanad and Muhammed Ghanim later appealed the decision to an administrative review board and were approved for transfer – but few details were given for the board's decision.

'You're dealing with the guys that Obama's own task force said shouldn't be transferred,' said Joscelyn. 'What has changed that all of a sudden these guys are approved for transfer?'

Both of the former detainees were judged 'too dangerous to transfer but not feasible for prosecution' by a special task force convened by Obama in 2009 to assess Guantanamo detainees. Out of 240 detainees reviewed by the task force, only 48 were recommended for this continued indefinite detention.

Bloody war: Yemen, Saudi Arabia's neighbor, has been thrust into a devastating civil conflict - with al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula part of it

This group consisted of detainees who had a 'significant organizational role' with al Qaeda or the Taliban, advanced military training, openly expressed an interest in returning to terrorism, or maintained strong associations with a terrorist organization.

The task force based its decision on information that 'indicated that the detainee poses a high level of threat that cannot be mitigated sufficiently except through continued detention.'

Bin Kanad was previously described by US officials as an al Qaeda member and sub-commander in Osama bin Laden's 55th Arab Brigade who had advanced weapons training.

He was deemed 'high risk' and 'likely to pose a threat to the US, its interests and allies.'

Ghanim was described by US officials as a 'veteran extremist' who served as a bodyguard to Osama bin Laden.

Bin Kanad and Ghanim later appealed for transfers with the Guantanamo periodic review board.

Bin Kanad was rejected by this board as recently as August 2015 – with reviewers saying he 'has continued to praise terrorist groups and activities, indicating that he retains an extremist mindset.'

Their requests were finally approved last year. The board explained its decision to transfer bin Kanad by saying he had a 'lack of advanced training and any significant leadership role with the Taliban' – a conclusion that doesn't acknowledge the prior findings.

'This all is a way to get rid of as many detainees as possible from Guantanamo before Obama leaves office,' said Joscelyn.

'When you have the Obama administration itself saying the guy is too dangerous to transfer on multiple occasions, and then they transfer him – I think there are plenty of reasons to question that.'

Ghanim's transfer approval also gives little indication of why the board decided to break with the task force's decision. In explaining the approval, the board acknowledged that Ghanim 'expressed hatred towards the United States on occasion' but this was 'probably out of frustration with his detention and debriefers' line of questioning.'

The board also claimed he had been corresponding with a former detainee who is suspected of going back into terrorism, and had several close family members and friends involved with AQAP.

They also described him as an 'experienced militant' who 'probably participated in plots against government and Western interests in Saudi Arabia and Yemen.'

But they praised his 'relative forthrightness' with the board about his past history of terrorism, including 'fighting in Afghanistan with the Taliban,' as well as his 'remorse for the effects of his actions on others' – and said his transfer would not be a security risk.

Two other detainees, Abdallah Yahya Yusif al Shibli and Muhammad Ali Abdallah Muhammad Bwazir, were also transferred to Saudi Arabia last week, the Obama administration announced.