Two detainees held at the US military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, will be repatriated to Algeria, the White House said Friday.
The move follows President Barack Obama's revived effort in recent months toward closing the facility, dpa reported.
"As the president has said, the United States remains determined to close the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay," the White House said in a statement.
The detainees are not identified in the statement, under long-standing policy, Army Lieutenant Colonel Todd Breasseale, a Pentagon spokesman, told dpa. He would not say whether the men would be set free in Algeria.
"We will not discuss the sensitive, diplomatic arrangements associated with the transfer," Breasseale said.
He said the two Algerians would leave Guantanamo when all conditions of their transfers have been met.
Their departure will leave number of Guantanamo prisoners at 164.
Breasseale declined to say whether the men were among 86 detainees already deemed eligible for conditional transfer or 71 whom the Pentagon said this week would be granted hearings before a periodic review board to determine whether they should be released. Several others have been convicted by a military tribunal or are awaiting trial.
Pentagon Press Secretary George Little said prior to the decision to transfer the detainees, a very senior interagency team conducted an intensive review, and Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel signed off on the legal requirements to move forward with the transfers.
Hagel "fully supports the president's goal of closing Guantanamo Bay, and this upcoming transfer brings us closer towards reaching that goal," Little said in a statement.
Breasseale confirmed that William Lietzau, the top Pentagon civilian official dealing with detainees, is stepping down to take a private-sector job.