WASHINGTON - Washington said Tuesday it would consider London's request to release five British-linked inmates from the Guantanamo Bay "war on terror" prison camp.
It would also consider any British requests to repatriate other such inmates, the State Department said.
New British Foreign Secretary David Miliband wrote to US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice seeking the return of the five, who are not British nationals but who lived in Britain before their detention at the camp in Cuba.
"We have the letter and we are going to review the request consistent with our policies -- to work with countries who have an interest in either having their nationals returned or taking responsibility for third-country nationals," said State Department spokesman Sean McCormack.
He said that London's request was "certainly not out of line with what we have done previously with the British government," citing earlier requests that were also considered by Washington.
"This request is for five. If there is a desire for the UK government to look at more than five, of course we would entertain that just as we would with any other country making a request," he added.
In the past, London has intervened in the cases of British nationals detained there, but had refused to get involved in those of residents without British nationality.
The British Foreign Office noted that it had secured the release of all British nationals held at Guantanamo by January 2005.
McCormack maintained that the five inmates requested for release by Britain from Guantanamo were believed to be "dangerous."
London's request, he said, would be reviewed consistent with US policy that inmates repatriated "would be treated humanely once they arrived at their destination" and "wouldn't be allowed to pose a threat to us or others."
Meanwhile rights defender Human Rights Watch called on other countries to push the United States to free the estimated 360 people still held in Guantanamo.
"International pressure like this is what we need to make the goal of closing Guantanamo a reality," said HRW counsel Jennifer Daskal in a statement.
She said the group hopes that more European Union countries will be willing to accept more detainees from Guantanamo.
The detainees at the US Navy prison include a dozen ethnic Uighurs from China, which considers them rebels, for whom no country has offered resettlement although the US has cleared them for release.
08/07/2007 21:11 GMT