OSLO, March 1 (Reuters) - Police in Norway on Saturday released two Somali men detained two days ago on suspicion of financing insurgent activities in their homeland, and asked a court to let them hold a third man in custody, officials said.

The three Somalis in their late 30s and 40s were detained on Thursday in early-morning raids coordinated with the arrests of three suspects in Sweden where two remain in custody.

Police have been tight-lipped about the case, and Saturday's hearing at an Oslo court was held behind closed doors and continued late into the evening.

A spokesman for Norway's state security service PST confirmed police had asked the court to remand one Somali man into custody for four weeks pending further investigation.

He said the other two were released on earlier on Saturday. They still face further investigation and possible charges.

All three men deny the allegations.

Norwegian media have reported that the men detained in Norway were suspected of providing funds for insurgent group, al-Shabab, the military wing of Somalia's Islamist movement.

Somalia's government and its Ethiopian allies face a persistent Islamist insurgency in Mogadishu. Rights workers say fighting in the capital killed 6,500 people last year. (Reporting by John Acher)

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