WASHINGTON – The Obama administration announced Friday its intention to repatriate two prisoners from the Guantanamo Bay detention facility to Algeria, the first such transfers in nearly a year.

White House press secretary Jay Carney said the Defense Department had notified Congress of the transfers. Under law, Congress must receive a 30-day notification before any transfer unless the defense secretary certifies that those being released do not constitute a threat to national security.

Officials did not identify the detainees slated for transfer, but a spokeswoman for the National Security Council said the Algerian government wants the two back and is “willing and able as a political and security matter to accept them.”