LONDON (AP) – A British resident is to be released from Guantanamo Bay after nearly five years in captivity, the Foreign Office said Thursday.

Bisher al-Rawi, an Iraqi national, has been held at the American base in Cuba since it opened in 2002.

“We have now agreed with the U.S. authorities that Mr. al-Rawi will be returned to the U.K. shortly, as soon as the practical arrangements have been made,” Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett told Parliament in a statement. “This decision follows extensive discussions to address the security implications of Mr. Al-Rawi’s return.”

In a statement issued by a lawmaker who represents their hometown, al-Rawi’s family said they were delighted at the news he is to be released, but that they would not make any further comments until he returned.

Mr. al-Rawi and another British resident, Jamil el-Banna, were alleged to have been associated with Al Qaeda through their connection with the London-based radical Muslim cleric Abu Qatada. Mr. al-Rawi had lived in Britain since 1985, and el-Banna was granted refugee status in Britain in 2000.

Messrs. al-Rawi and el-Banna were arrested several years ago in Gambia while trying to return to Britain with electronic equipment that authorities described as suspicious. The men’s lawyers claim it was a battery charger.

Their lawyers have said the two men were arrested after British intelligence agents passed on information about their travel plans to America.

After their arrests, the men ended up in American custody. From there, the CIA took them on a rendition flight to Cairo, Egypt, where the plane refueled, then to a CIA facility in Afghanistan, where they were held and interrogated as suspected terrorists, the British Broadcasting Corp. has reported.

Britain, which has long refused to represent resident foreigners held at Guantanamo, had said it would take up the case to have Mr. al-Rawi released. It did not explain why they had not lobbied in the past for his release.