The government has yet to receive information on the status of two of its citizens who are part of a group of al-Qaeda suspects held by the United States, a top minister said today.

"So far we have not received any information which confirms that two of our citizens have been transferred from covert CIA custody to the detention centre (in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba)," Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar said.

Malaysia had asked for information but had "yet to receive any" the state news agency Bernama quoted Syed Hamid as saying.

US President George W Bush on Wednesday announced 14 suspects in covert CIA custody had been transferred to Guantanamo Bay to be tried by military commissions.

The group includes two Malaysians, Mohammed Nazir Lep Lillie and Mohamad Farik Amir or Zubair.

Lillie was allegedly the key aide to Hambali, the operational mastermind of Southeast Asian militant group Jemaah Islamiah (JI).

He was involved in the Jakarta Marriott Hotel blast in 2003, while Zubair is allegedly an al-Qaeda and JI member who served under Hambali and assisted in major JI operations.

Second wave of attacks

Both men were slated to be operatives for what was believed to be a second wave of al-Qaeda attacks targeting Los Angeles, according to US intelligence.

Syed Hamid said further information from the US will be obtained from the Malaysian Embassy in Washington.

He said the important thing was for them to be tried by an international legal process upholding conventions which protect human rights.

Malaysia has arrested more than 80 alleged Islamic militants, who have been held under laws which allow for detention without trial.

Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi in February had urged the US to shut down Guantanamo Bay, saying it was regarded as a torture centre.