WASHINGTON -- Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel has secretly notified Congress that the military intends to transfer six low-level Guantanamo Bay detainees to Uruguay as early as next month, according to people with knowledge of the communication. All six have been approved for transfer for more than four years.

Hagel's formal determination that the transfer would be in the national security interest of the United States breaks a bureaucratic paralysis over a deal that has been waiting for his approval since March, but that stalled after a prisoner exchange deal that secured the release of Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl from insurgents in the Afghanistan war.

The six detainees bound for Uruguay include a Syrian man who has filed a high-profile court challenge to the Pentagon's procedures for forcibly feeding detainees who are on a hunger strike. His transfer would most likely render that lawsuit moot, although there are several similar challenges.

"The United States is grateful to our partner, Uruguay, for this significant humanitarian gesture and appreciates the Uruguayan government's generous assistance as the United States continues its efforts to close the detention facility at Guantanamo," said Ian Moss, a State Department spokesman. "We remain very appreciative of the assistance of our friends and allies who have stepped up not just to receive their own nationals but also those countries who have accepted detainees for resettlement."

The group would be the largest to depart the prison at once since 2009, and the transfer would reduce the Guantanamo Bay inmate population to 143. That figure includes 72 prisoners who are recommended for transfer, and 71 who are not.

By giving lawmakers a congressionally mandated notice of at least 30 days before any transfer, Hagel signaled a return to normal order for Guantanamo prisoner releases.

In the Bergdahl deal, the Obama administration did not give notice before transferring five high-level Taliban detainees to Qatar. Some lawmakers in both parties said that was illegal. The Obama administration insisted that providing no notice in that case was lawful, citing the risk to Bergdahl's life posed by any delay after the deal was struck.

Before the controversy, the Senate Armed Services Committee had reached a bipartisan deal clearing the way to transfer some detainees to a prison on domestic soil, allowing the Guantanamo prison to be closed. After the Bergdahl exchange, the Republican-led House voted, largely along party lines, for a proposal to prohibit the transfer of any detainee for any purpose.

Amid the political fallout, Hagel and his top military advisers had signaled reluctance to move forward with the Uruguay deal, along with another proposal to repatriate four low-level Afghan detainees that has been awaiting his approval since February, according to people familiar with the deliberations.

Of the six detainees President Jose Mujica of Uruguay has offered to resettle, four are Syrian, one is Palestinian and one is Tunisian. On June 26, lawyers for the six sent a letter to the administration urging it to act quickly while there was a window of opportunity, arguing that "these men should not be used as scapegoats in the current bout of U.S. partisan politics."

The administration is said to have notified Congress on July 9 that Hagel had approved the deal.

Lt. Col. Myles Caggins III, a Pentagon spokesman, said he was limited in what he could say for security reasons, but added, "Although we will not discuss certain aspects of our communications with Congress, we continue to move forward in transferring Guantanamo detainees and will continue to comply with the law in notifying Congress 30 days in advance of any transfer."

A Section on 07/17/2014