A federal judge Thursday upheld the Guantanamo detention of a Yemeni who claimed he worked in a medical clinic in Afghanistan during the 2001-2002 U.S. invasion.

Judge Royce C. Lamberth's ruling in the case of Muktar Yahya al Warafi raised the U.S. government tally to 12 wins and 34 losses in federal lawsuits decided so far in the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C.

It came just days after another judge ruled in favor of a Mauritanian man who was allegedly linked to the Hamburg, Germany, cell of the Sept. 11 hijackers -- stirring anger in Congress even before Judge James Robertson's decision was declassified.

The Wrafi decision was made public in a one-page order from Lamberth, the court's chief judge, who said he agreed with the Obama administration that the 36-year-old Yemeni's detention was lawful based on court arguments, briefs ``the applicable law, and the reliable evidence in the record.''

Lamberth's reason was contained in a classified memorandum, he wrote, which was filed with the federal court's security officer.

Pentagon documents describe Warafi as a jihadist who had trained on a Kalashnikov assault rifle in Afghanistan before the 9/11 attacks.

But the Yemeni argued he worked in a medical facility in Yemen, administering intravenous lines for patients' nutrition, and had done similar work in Afghanistan.

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