The White House has acknowledged that it might not be able to meet the January deadline for closing the US military prison at Guantanamo Bay, officials have said.

The slow process of reviewing the 225 remaining prisoners and resolving questions such as where they should be relocated were cited as reasons the closure deadline might slip.

Senior administration officials told the Associated Press news agency on Friday that Barack Obama, the US president, is still committed to closing the facility, which he promised last January to do within a year.

Unresolved issues

With only four months to go before the deadline, a number of issues remain unresolved including the establishment of a new set of rules for military trials, finding a location for a new prison to house detainees and finding host countries for those who can be released.

This has prompted Republicans in congress to demand that the prison stay open, saying it is too dangerous to rush the closure.

Even Democrats defied the president saying they needed more information about Obama's plan before supporting it.

Congress is denying Obama money to shut down Guantanamo.

The administration has so far transferred 14 prisoners to other countries.