Washington, D.C. ? Al-Qaida or Taliban supporters who directly assisted in hostile acts against the United States or its allies can be held without charges as enemy combatants, a federal judge ruled Monday.

The ruling by U.S. District Judge Richard J. Leon takes a first step toward resolving the fate of some of the hundreds of men – many who have been held for years without charges – detained as terror suspects at the U.S. Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

It also strikes a compromise between dueling definitions by the government and the detainees over who can be labeled an enemy combatant.

Lawyers for six detainees, all Bosnians, said Monday’s ruling limits the government’s ability to hold suspects who were not captured on a battlefield. They called it a “favorable” opinion.