Afghanistan to free 72 inmates seen "dangerous" by U.S.: statement

The Afghan government said Thursday it would set free 72 out of 88 suspected Taliban inmates regarded by the United States as "dangerous" prisoners from Bagram prison near the capital.

"A judicial and justice meeting chaired by Afghan President Hamid Karzai was held in Presidential Palace earlier today," the palace said in a statement.

The meeting ordered a board which is in charge of reviewing the Bagram prisoners' cases to free 45 prisoners who are innocent and against whose cases there is no evidence, the statement said.

The statement noted that there was inadequate and insufficient evidence on another 27 cases, and the captives were jailed only for simple intelligence tips.

The prison, which was named Parwan Detention Center after the United States handed it over to the Afghan government in March, houses more than 3,000 suspected Taliban and al-Qaida operatives.

Afghanistan had recently released more than 650 prisoners and said more detainees will be freed in coming months, a decision opposed by the U.S. military, who said some of the detainees are dangerous and would rejoin Taliban if released.