Some of the six Bahraini detainees at Guantanamo Bay are to be freed over Eid. US authorities have told the Foreign Ministry that "a number" of the detainees will be released over the holiday. It is hoped the rest will also be released soon, an official ministry source said in a statement released yesterday.

But it did not say how many or who would be coming home in the next few days, after nearly four years in captivity, leaving relatives caught between delight and despair.

"I am so happy I want to fly," were the words of one delighted father, while others were more cautious, acutely aware that some of them would be left heartbroken.

Neither the relatives nor their lawyers had been informed officially of the breakthrough.

The GDN broke the news to Joshua Colangelo-Bryan, who leads the New York lawyers representing the six.

"It would be fabulous, but I won't believe it till I see feet on the ground," he said.

"I'm encouraged by news but unless I see one of my clients hugging his mother, I will not take it for granted."

PHOTO CAPTION

Detainees sit in a holding area at Camp X-Ray in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. (AFP)