FACTBOX: Osama bin Laden's driver, Salim Hamdan

(Reuters) - The trial of Osama bin Laden's former driver, Salim Hamdan, began at the U.S. naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, on Monday. It is the first U.S. war crimes trial since World War Two.

Here are some facts about Hamdan:

*Hamdan, a Yemeni, was captured in November 2001 at a roadblock in Afghanistan, not long after the U.S. invasion. Prosecutors allege he had two surface-to-air missiles in his car and was headed to a battlefield. Defense lawyers say he was returning from a trip to evacuate women and children to Pakistan.

*He is accused of conspiracy and providing material support for terrorism, charges that could bring a life prison sentence.

*Prosecutors say he was close to al Qaeda's inner circle while his lawyers assert Hamdan was simply a driver and mechanic in the motor pool who needed the $200 monthly salary.

*In pretrial hearings the bearded Hamdan, who is in his late 30s, wore a traditional white headdress and white gown, over which he had a Western-style suit jacket. He was dressed in khaki prison garb on the opening day of trial. His lawyers say his other clothing was wrinkled and dirty.

*His lawyers want to call as key witnesses accused September 11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and alleged co-plotter Walid bin Attash to support Hamdan's contention that he was not an al Qaeda member. Like Hamdan, both men are held at Guantanamo.

(Reporting by Jim Loney in Guantanamo Bay, editing by Michael Christie and David Storey)