Two Kuwaitis held in Guantanamo to be freed soon: media

Two Kuwaitis currently held at the U.S. prison in Guantanamo Bay will be released in about two weeks, local media said on Sunday.

"I was informed by (Kuwaiti Foreign Minister) Sheikh Mohammed Al-Sabah that they would be back in Kuwait before (of) Ramadan," Khaled Al-Odah, who leads the Kuwaiti Family Committee for the Detainees in Guantanamo, was quoted as saying.

Ramadan, the Muslim holy month, falls around Sept. 23-24, on the night of the new moon.

Al-Odah, whose group works separately but closely with the government, identified the men as Omar Rajab Amin, 39, and Abdullah Kamel Al-Kandari, 33.

Al-Kandari was arrested in Afghanistan in December 2001 and Amin was arrested in Pakistan around the same time, Al-Odah said.

The detainees' relatives said that they had been doing charity work in the two countries, not fighting for al-Qaida or the Taliban.

There are six Kuwaitis currently held at Guantanamo, while six others have been freed in recent years.

"Negotiations are still ongoing for the others," said Al-Odah, whose son is among those still detained.

The U.S. military currently holds about 445 detainees at the U. S. naval base detention center in Guantanamo Bay and most of the prisoners were captured during the Afghan war in 2001.

Source: Xinhua