Awal Gul, 48, who was held at Guantanamo since 2002 over alleged links to the Taliban and Al-Qaeda, "died of apparent natural causes late Tuesday evening" after working out, the US Southern Command said in a statement.

Following his exercise, Gul collapsed in the shower and detainees brought him to a guard station for emergency help, it said.

"The guards immediately alerted medical personnel, who upon arriving at the cell block found him unresponsive," the statement said.

The detainee was eventually pronounced dead after attempts to revive him failed.

Under "standard" procedures, the Naval Criminal Investigative Service has launched a probe into the incident to determine the cause and manner of the death, the military said.

A Muslim cleric will advise the military on handling the remains of the inmate in a "culturally sensitive and religiously appropriate manner."

The military alleged Gul was a Taliban recruiter and commander of a base in Jalalabad who had contact with Al-Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden.

Gul allegeldy "admitted to meeting with Usama Bin Laden and providing him with operational assistance on several occasions," it said.

The incident occurred after Guantanamo detainees held a series of peaceful protests, demanding the prison be shut down as promised by US President Barack Obama.

Defense lawyer Ramzi Kassem said last week he had learned from a client held at the US naval base that the protests had been going on for the past 13 days to mark the ninth anniversary of the opening of the prison.

The controversial detention camp was opened on January 11, 2002 to house suspects rounded up in the US "war on terror" launched in the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks.

A total of 173 men are still housed at the prison, which Obama has vowed to close. The administration has run into a series of legal hurdles and the timetable to shut the jail has been indefinitely pushed back.

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