A Saudi Arabian detainee said by the U.S. military to have been a bodyguard for Osama bin Laden has been repatriated from Guantanamo Bay after more than a decade behind bars, the Pentagon said Tuesday.

Abdul Shalabi, 39, was first captured by Pakistani forces in December 2001 and was transferred to Guantanamo the following month.

Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump said Saturday he was not morally obligated to defend Barack Obama after he let pass unchallenged a questioner's assertion that the U.S. leader is a Muslim.

But while striking a different tone later in the day, the bombastic businessman acknowledged that he would have "no problem" with appointing a Muslim American to his cabinet if he were elected.

President Barack Obama said Friday that he will nominate longtime Pentagon official Eric Fanning to be the Army's new secretary. If confirmed, Fanning would be the U.S. first openly gay leader of a military service.

The nomination comes as the Obama administration works to eliminate barriers to military service based on sexuality or gender. Army secretary is a civilian position.

President Barack Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro had a rare phone call Friday ahead of Pope Francis' impending visit to both their nations.

The White House said Obama and Castro commended the pope's role in "advancing relations between our countries." Francis was instrumental in the secret talks that led to a thaw in relations between the Cold War foes, even offering the Vatican as a neutral location for negotiations.

U.S. President Barack Obama traveled to the political battleground state of Iowa Monday, bringing a pro-middle class message that Democrats hope will resonate in the 2016 election.

With the campaign to succeed him well underway, Obama will appear on the campaign trail in Des Moines to promote a new education initiative.

US President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle on Friday stood on the White House lawn to observe a moment of silence to mark the 14th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.

The moment of silence was observed at 8:46 am (1246 GMT) -- the time when the first jet commandeered by Al-Qaeda operatives smashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center in New York, where a ceremony of remembrance also took place. 

President Barack Obama has ordered his team to admit at least 10,000 Syrian refugees next year, the White House said Thursday, amid criticism that the United States has not done enough. 

Spokesman Josh Earnest said Obama had asked staff to "scale up" the number of refugee admissions from around 1,500 in this fiscal year, to 10,000 in the next, beginning October 1.

U.S. President Barack Obama welcomed Saudi Arabia's King Salman for a first and long-delayed White House summit Friday, marked by warm public words amid clashing views on Middle Eastern crises.

Obama made the rare move of greeting the 79-year-old monarch at the doors of the White House, as he hailed the "longstanding friendship" between the two countries.

U.S. President Barack Obama will host Saudi Arabia's King Salman in their first and long-delayed White House summit Friday, with clashing views on Middle Eastern crises coming to the fore.

Salman's inaugural visit as king -- originally scheduled for May and cancelled by Riyadh -- has been billed as a way of reinforcing U.S.-Saudi relations.

The CIA and U.S. special forces are carrying out a secret campaign using armed drones to target and kill Islamic State leaders in Syria, the Washington Post reported Tuesday.

The clandestine program is separate from America's wider military operations against IS fighters, the newspaper reported, citing unnamed U.S. officials.