After years of secrecy, the Pentagon has disclosed the names, ages and home countries of all former and current detainees in the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, U.S. media reported Tuesday.

Based on the list released late Monday in response to a Freedom of Information Act (FIA) lawsuit, the Pentagon said it has held 759 prisoners, all males ranging from teenagers to older than 70, from more than 40 countries,

The list includes some 200 former detainees whose names were kept secret previously.

They were moved out before the Pentagon began hearings in the summer of 2004 to determine whether detainees were properly classified as "enemy combatants" who should be held at the base.

The Pentagon said the disclosure marks the first time that everyone who has been held at Guantanamo has been identified.

Last month, the U.S. military released the names of 558 detainees, also in response to a FIA lawsuit.

The names of all detainees held at Guantanamo were previously kept classified because of "the security operation as well as the intelligence operation that takes place down there," said Pentagon spokesperson Bryan Whitman.

The new list, when compared to the previous one, shows the Pentagon released many Afghans who were swept up early in the war.

Earlier this month, the Pentagon said about 480 detainees are now at Guantanamo and about 275 have been released or transferred.

Source: Xinhua