The US military says it has sent two men who had been held at Guantanamo Bay prison back to their homeland of Algeria.
A brief Pentagon statement says the release of the two men brings the prisoner population at the US base in Cuba down to 164 men. The United States said it was grateful for Algeria's willingness to accept the men, Nabil Hadjarab and Mutia Sadiq Ahmad Sayyab.
The British human rights group Reprieve represents the 34-year-old Hadjarab and it welcomed today's announcement, calling for the release of more prisoners from Guantanamo.
President Barack Obama has pledged repeatedly to close the prison but has been thwarted by Congress, which imposed restrictions on transferring prisoners abroad or holding them in the United States, even for trial.
