El Salvador's Supreme Court has refused to order the detention of five former military officers indicted in Spain for the 1989 slayings of six Jesuit priests during the Central American country's 1980-1992 civil war.

The court had issued a similar ruling in August in the case of nine other former Salvadoran military officers in the same case.

Those nine later left the military barracks where they took refuge.

A Spanish judge issued an arrest warrant for the ex-soldiers through Interpol in May.

A court spokesman said Friday the five men could not be detained because it has not received a formal extradition request from Spain.

Five of the priests slain were Spanish. The sixth was Salvadoran.