Japanese military officials in Samawa confirmed that the withdrawal of its 600 troops from Iraq had begun with the dispatch of military trucks and other equipment to Kuwait.

The convoy of small military vehicles, bulldozers and other engineering equipment used in reconstruction work left the Samawa base at around 6:45 am (0245 GMT) Sunday and is now in Kuwait, a Japanese military official told the photographer.

However none of the 600 soldiers stationed in Samawa formed part of the convoy.

On June 20 Japan ordered its troops to leave Iraq, ending its first military mission since World War II to a country where fighting is under way.

Japan relies on British and Austrialian troops for protection in Iraq as its own troops are barred from using force.

The Japanese withdrawal is expected to be complete by late July.

Last week Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki announced that Iraqi forces will assume responsibility for security in Muthanna province -- the first such handover of a region from coalition troops to fledgling Iraqi forces.

Japan's military mission, which has helped reconstruct the relatively peaceful area around the city of Samawa since January 2004, is the first of its kind since Japan was forced by the United States to renounce war after World War II.

The Japanese troops suffered no casualties and did not fire their weapons.

That brought to almost 200 the number of insurgents killed as part of Operation Mountain Thrust over the past two weeks. The Afghan defence ministry had put the toll for that period at 149 on Saturday.

Two soldiers with the US-led coalition died in hospital after being badly wounded in the clash, the force said in a statement. Another was hurt. Their nationalities were not released.

Forty-three coalition soldiers have now died in combat in Afghanistan this year, around half of them Americans.

Panjwayi district is only 35 kilometres (22 miles) southwest of the south's biggest city Kandahar, which has been hit by regular attacks including
Iraq-style suicide blasts.

The fugitive leader of the Taliban, Mullah Mohammad Omar, lived in the area for a while and is reputed to have first assembled the movement's religious scholars into a fighting force there in 1994 to rescue two girls abducted and raped by regional warlords.

Two years later the Taliban controlled most of Afghanistan and imposed a harsh version of Islamic Sharia law on the population which included public stoning to death for adultery. They also sheltered the Al-Qaeda terror network.

The hardliners were removed from power in late 2001 by a US-led coalition after they failed to hand over Al-Qaeda leaders following the September 11, 2001 strikes on US cities.

Panjwayi has seen some of the fiercest fighting in the past month, with the Taliban and security forces mounting some of their biggest attacks since 2001.

The clashes have killed dozens of Taliban but also 34 civilians who were caught up in a coalition strike in Panjwayi last month.

Saturday's battle started when a joint Afghan and coalition force initially engaged eight to 10 "enemy extremists," the coalition said.

"The enemy fighters attempted to flee the area but then joined other reinforcements in a nearby compound.

"Afghan and coalition forces pressed the attack with joint fire and a ground assault, killing an estimated 45 extremists in the firefight."

The coalition has said Operation Mountain Thrust is intended to "set the conditions" for a NATO-led force's takeover in late July of command of the southern region from a US-led coalition .

Mountain Thrust involves forces from Britain, Canada and the United States, among other nations, as well as around 3,000 soldiers from Afghanistan's fledgling army.

Around four years after it was launched the insurgency shows no sign of abating, with more and more attacks also being reported in the normally relatively calm west and north.

The violence is demoralising the population and hobbling efforts to rebuild after nearly three decades of war.

A plume of thick black smoke was seen rising from the area on the east bank of the Tigris river.

Baghdad markets have been targetted twice in the past week.

On Tuesday two people were killed and 28 wounded in a bombing at a second-hand clothes market in Bab Shargi, also on the east side.

And on June 16, a bomb hidden in a pushcart at Bab Shargi's Haraj market killed five people and wounded 25.

The state SPA news agency quoted Nayef as expressing "appreciation for the cooperation of the authorities concerned in the United States to facilitate the repatriation" of the group, who would be "subjected to the laws in force in the kingdom".

The Pentagon said one of the Saudis had been found by a special military tribunal to no longer be an enemy combatant, while the remaining 13 "were approved for transfer by an administrative review board decision".

The release of the group reduced the number of prisoners at the camp to "approximately 450", the Pentagon said.

It came after the US said two Saudis and one Yemeni committed suicide in the camp created after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks to hold terror suspects captured by US troops in Afghanistan and other parts of the world.

The three were found in their cells on June 10 apparently after hanging themselves with cords fashioned from clothes and bedding, US officials said. Families of the three men disputed the account, accusing Washington of a cover-up.

Thirty-seven Saudis have now returned home from Guantanamo, leaving at least 90 Saudis still held in the notorious facility. The bodies of the two Saudis said to have committed suicide were also repatriated.

Approximately 310 Guantanamo detainees have now been handed over to countries including Afghanistan, Albania, Australia, Bahrain, Belgium, Britain, Denmark, France, Kuwait, Morocco, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Sweden and Uganda, the Pentagon said.

About 120 detainees still at Guantanamo are eligible for transfer or release through a military-run review process.

"Departure of these remaining detainees approved for transfer or release is subject to ongoing discussions between the United States and other nations," the Defense Department said Saturday.

"The department expects that there will continue to be other transfers or releases of detainees."

Continued detention of hundreds of foreign nationals without trial at the US naval base has prompted calls in Europe and elsewhere for the camp's closure.

Last month, British Attorney General Lord Goldsmith publicly called the detention center "unacceptable", adding that to many people it had become "a symbol... of injustice".

US President George W. Bush faced persistent calls for its closure during his visit to Europe this past week, but declined to give a specific commitment.

"I would like to end Guantanamo," he said on Wednesday in Vienna, after a summit with European Union leaders.

But he cautioned that a way must first be found to send inmates back home -- mainly to Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan and Yemen -- or bring them to court.

The US Supreme Court may rule before the end of the month on the legality of the special tribunals set up by the Pentagon to try detainees suspected of involvement in terrorism.

Amnesty International and the American Civil Liberties Union said Friday that Bush doesn't need a court decision to close the prison, which has drawn intense international criticism. The case has nothing to do with the prison itself, they said.

"Bush can close Guantanamo, but this (court) decision can't," said Ben Wizner, an ACLU attorney who monitors Guantanamo. "That's not a question before this court."

The ruling, however, could determine whether the government can proceed with military trials for Hamdan and nine other detainees who have been charged with crimes.

Air Force Col. Morris Davis, the chief Guantanamo prosecutor, said about 65 more detainees being held at the U.S. base are likely to be charged with crimes if the Supreme Court upholds the process.

Prosecutors are preparing additional charges, including some that could incur the death penalty, Davis told The Associated Press in a telephone interview from Washington.

"We're pressing on, anticipating a favorable decision," he said.

Hamdan's attorneys argued that the conspiracy charge filed against him is not legitimate. The government has charged each of the 10 detainees with conspiracy, and seven of them - including Hamdan - currently face no other charges.

If the Supreme Court upholds Hamdan's challenge, the government could "relatively quickly" file new charges such as aiding the enemy, Davis said.

Hamdan, a 36-year-old native of Yemen, admits working as a driver for bin Laden but denies conspiring to commit terrorist attacks on the United States. He fled
Afghanistan after the Sept. 11 attacks, was captured in Pakistan and turned over to U.S. forces.

The U.S. military says Hamdan was also a bodyguard for bin Laden and would have at least had knowledge of al-Qaida attacks. They also say he delivered weapons to members and associates of the terror network. He faces up to life in prison if convicted.

His military-appointed attorney, Navy Lt. Cmdr Charles Swift, said the lawsuit is aimed at moving the case to the civilian court system or to a traditional military court-martial. Lawyers for several defendants contend the tribunals lack guidelines and favor the prosecution.

"This is about a fair trial, not a free pass," Swift said.

The Supreme Court was also asked to consider whether fair trial provisions of the Geneva Conventions apply to the military tribunals.

Another issue is whether the Supreme Court even has a say in the matter. The administration argues the Detainee Treatment Act, passed by Congress and signed into law by Bush on Dec. 30, strips the federal courts of much of their jurisdiction over Guantanamo detainees.

On Saturday, 14 Saudi Arabians were released from Guantanamo and transferred to their home country, leaving about 450 detainees at the prison, the
Pentagon said.

One Saudi was released because U.S. officials determined the detainee was no longer an enemy combatant. The other Saudis were released after a review process determined they could be transferred.