Saudi frees 18 former Guantanamo detainees

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http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=newsOne&storyID=2006-12-26T080545Z_01_L26282729_RTRUKOC_0_US-SAUDI-GUANTANAMO.xml&WTmodLoc=Home-C2-TopNews-newsOne-7

JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia has freed 18 former Guantanamo Bay detainees after they completed their jail sentences, the Interior Ministry said on Tuesday.

The men were among 28 Saudi nationals and one resident handed over this year by the United States from the Guantanamo Bay naval base in Cuba, it said. The Muslim kingdom had released 11 of the men earlier this month. snip

Most of the 19 suicide hijackers who carried out the attacks on U.S. cities in 2001 were Saudis.

Washington has designated Guantanamo prisoners "enemy combatants", denying them the prisoner of war status that would guarantee them certain rights under international law.