Sana'a: A Yemeni national who was released from the US Guantanamo Bay prison has vowed to continue jihad "as long as he lives".

In his first interview after his release from prison on October 12, Sadeq Mohammad Saeed said he did not know why he was arrested in the first place, and why he was released.

Saeed was arrested along with his compatriots in Afghanistan from a hospital where he was undergoing treatment for injuries he suffered in a battle more than six years ago.

Hours after arriving at his home in Ibb city yesterday, Saeed, in smart traditional Yemeni clothes and sporting a long beard, was receiving visitors who came for a welcome ceremony.

His brothers were introducing him to those who came to the house, many of whom were strangers. There were also relatives of former detainees of Guantanamo.

Reluctant

Saeed, who was initially reluctant to speak to the journalists, gave in after some persuasion by his brothers and spoke to Gulf News.

Saeed spoke concisely focusing on what he called a "letter to the Americans and the world". Saeed said he and his companions were engaged in "jihad" since they left homes and families and would continue doing so as long as they live.

"I travelled to Pakistan and from there to Afghanistan and then I joined one of the Taliban battlelines," he said.

He refused to delve into the bodily abuses he suffered while in Guantanamo, but spoke about abuses against religion inflicted on all detainees.

"The abuses targeted religion, reviling God, and Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) and his companions and the believers. Some brothers were subjected to psychological and physical torture because they were Muslims.

"There were a lot of abuses, and it is enough to say they were directed at Allah, his prophet and the believers," he said.

Saeed said he was not sure of his future plans.

Not killers

"I cannot say anything right now. I'm still a stranger on this land, I'm a new-born, I cannot say I can do this and that," said Saeed, who travelled to Afghanistan before completion his secondary school.

One of Saeed's brothers, who was a jihadist in Afghanistan, later said all the young people who went for jihad in Afghanistan will continue to pursue that goal until they achieve justice and victory.

"Let the Americans know that jihadists are respected in their nations and they are not killers or criminals," Rashad Mohammad Saeed, the brother, said.

Rashad Mohammad exhorted Muslims to rise in revolt against the Bush administration which spends billions of dollars to destroy Taliban and Al Qaida. "These attempts are only making the Taliban and Al Qaida stronger and stronger."

About 100 Yemenis are still languishing in Guantanamo.