BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- The U.S. military released nine Iranian detainees to the Iraqi government Friday who "no longer pose a security risk" and have no "intelligence value," a military statement said.
Once in Iraqi custody the U.S. military said the nine, who are among 20 Iranians being held in U.S. custody, would be transferred to Iran's embassy in Baghdad, and then to the neighboring Islamic Republic.
Two of those released Friday are affiliated with the Iranian military entity called the Quds Force, a group recently designated by the United States as a supporter of terrorism, a U.S. military commander said.
Rear Adm. Gregory Smith, a military spokesman, briefed reporters on Wednesday and said the two arrested in January in Irbil remain identified as "associates" of the Quds Force, an arm of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
The two were among five detained people Smith referred to as the Irbil five. However, Smith differentiated between the threat they pose as "individuals" to Iraq and the entity they belong to.
He said the pair has been deemed "insignificant" and their release is an "opportunity to demonstrate" that people who have shown "good faith" and no longer pose a threat "can return to society." He said such judgments are made in reviews of detainee case files that are made by coalition and Iraqi authorities around every six month.
Last month, the United States announced sanctions against the corps for its "support for proliferation" and the Quds Force for its "support for terrorism."
The sanctions means "no U.S. citizen or private organization will be allowed to engage in financial transactions with these persons and entities. In addition, any assets that these designees have under U.S. jurisdiction will be immediately frozen."
He said there's no link between the release of the nine and an apparent pledge made by Iranian officials to stop support for insurgents from Iran but at the same time welcomed the possibility that the pledge would bear fruit. E-mail to a friend