Updated

An appeals court has rejected arguments that led to an indefinite stay of proceedings at the Guantanamo Bay naval base against a Saudi charged in the deadly 2000 bombing of the USS Cole.

Saudi prisoner Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri faces trial by military commission at the U.S. base in Cuba. In February, the judge put proceedings on hold after members of the defense team quit over alleged violations of attorney-client privilege.

The U.S. Court of Military Commission Review said in a ruling released Friday they should not have quit and should have returned as ordered.

A defense attorney who did not quit, Navy Lt. Alaric Piette, said he expects pretrial hearings to resume.

The ruling came on the 18th anniversary of the attack off Aden in Yemen that killed 17 Marines.