WASHINGTON, Oct 11: The United States announced on Monday that it had sent Yasser Esam Hamdi, a US-born Saudi man who has been held for nearly three years as a "war on terror" suspect, back to Saudi Arabia.

The State Department said that Hamdi had arrived in Saudi Arabia. Hamdi must renounce his claim to US nationality as part of the deal under which he was sent back.

He had been held at the Charleston Naval brig, in South Carolina, for most of the time since being brought back from Afghanistan in early 2002. "The United States appreciates the cooperation of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in facilitating this transfer," said a State Department statement. -AFP