A Saudi Arabian delegation is on its way to see about 100 of its national being held at the US detention centre at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, according to Saudi sources.

The delegation made up of interior and foreign ministry officials had been waiting for weeks for permission to visit the Guantanamo base where the American military is keeping more than 500 suspected members of Osama Bin Laden's al-Qaeda organisation and Taleban.

The detention centre has proved controversial on many levels

The team left Saudi Arabia on Friday, according to the sources, who refused to provide other details until the team returned.

US military officials at Guantanamo would not confirm whether Saudi officials were due to visit.

"There's nothing we can talk about in terms of foreign delegation visits," spokesman James Bell told AP.

Saudi Arabia says some of the Saudi detainees are innocent and have no links to al-Qaeda and has asked for its citizens be turned over for interrogation in the kingdom.

Saudi links

The United States blames the Saudi-born Bin Laden and his organisation for the 11 September attacks on New York and Washington.

The 11 September 9/11 attacks were carried out mainly by disaffected Saudis

Fifteen of the 19 alleged hijackers who carried out the attacks were Saudis nationals.

Bin Laden was stripped of his Saudi citizenship after calling for the overthrow of the ruling Saudi dynasty.

Sixteen foreign delegations have visited Guantanamo to check on their citizens' welfare, question them and deliver mail.

British officials have visited the seven British nationals there three times.

The Guantanamo inmates originate from more than 30 countries and were mainly arrested in Afghanistan during the US-led campaign to overthrow the Taleban, which harboured Bin Laden and his organisation.

Washington has refused to grant the detainees prisoner-of-war status, with rights protected under the Geneva Conventions, and is reserving the right to try them before secret military tribunals with the power sentence them to death.

So far, none of the detainees have been charged with any crime.