RIYADH: Nine Yemeni nationals released by the United States from its Guantanamo Bay prison arrived in the Kingdom on Saturday evening.

The Kingdom accepted the freed Yemeni Gitmo prisoners on a directive from Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman.

The king responded to a request from the families of the Yemenis who pleaded for their stay in the Kingdom in view of the current unsettled situation in Yemen. Yemeni President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi also requested the king to host them.

A spokesman for the Ministry of Interior said the men's families have been notified of their arrival in the Kingdom, and that all arrangements made for them to meet with the freed prisoners.

The former detainees will undergo counseling and guidance programs in accordance with the applicable regulations of the Kingdom, the spokesman said.

The US Defense Department expressed gratitude to the Kingdom for accepting the men.

"The United States is grateful to the government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for its humanitarian gesture and willingness to support ongoing US efforts to close the Guantanamo Bay detention facility," a statement from the Defense Department said.

The department identified the men as Ahmed Umar Abdullah Al-Hikimi, Abdul Rahman Mohammed Saleh Nasir, Ali Yahya Mahdi Al-Raimi, Tariq Ali Abdullah Ahmed Ba Odah, Muhammed Abdullah Muhammed Al-Hamiri, Ahmed Yaslam Said Kuman, Abd Al-Rahman Al-Qyati, Mansour Muhammed Ali Al-Qatta and Mashur Abdullah Muqbil Ahmed Al-Sabri.