Afghanistan yesterday released 65 accused militants from a former US prison despite protests from the US military, which says the men are Taliban fighters who will likely return to the battlefield to kill coalition and Afghan forces.
The release was ordered by Afghan President Hamid Karzai several weeks ago, after his government took over the prison from US troops.
The decision prompted angry denunciations from Washington and strained relations between the two countries ahead of the withdrawal of most international combat troops at the end of the year.
US forces in Afghanistan say some of the men are responsible for killing or wounding dozens of international and Afghan soldiers.
The prisoners were freed just after 9am from the Parwan Detention Facility near Bagram Air Field, about 45km north of Kabul, prison spokesman Major Nimatullah Khaki said.
They boarded a bus to leave the facility, laughing and smiling, he said.
The US has argued for the detainees to face trial in Afghan courts — citing strong evidence against them, from DNA linking them to roadside bombs to explosive residue on their clothing — but Kabul has cited insufficient proof to hold them.
Karzai has also referred to the prison as a “Taliban-producing factory,” where innocent Afghans are tortured into hating their country.
The US military late on Wednesday night issued a strongly worded statement condemning the imminent release, which it said would include detainees directly linked to attacks that have killed or wounded 32 US or coalition personnel and 23 Afghan security personnel or civilians.
Afghan defense ministry spokesman Mohammad Zair Azimi confirmed the release yesterday, but would not comment on US concerns.
“Our responsibility is the protection of the prisoners. That is all,” Azimi said by telephone.
Among those who were expected to walk free yesterday morning was Mohammad Wali, who the US military says is a suspected Taliban explosives expert who allegedly placed roadside bombs targeting Afghan and international forces. The military said Wali had been biometrically linked to two roadside explosions and had a latent fingerprint match on another improvised explosive device. He had also tested positive for explosives residue.
Others in the group include Nek Mohammad — who the US says was captured with extensive weapons — and a man identified as Ehsanullah, who is claimed to have been biometrically matched to a roadside bomb and who tested positive for explosives residue.
In other news, men in Afghan army uniforms turned their weapons on US forces in eastern Afghanistan on Wednesday, killing two US soldiers and wounding four others, officials said.
An Afghan interior ministry official said the shooting took place in Kapisa Province, just north of the capital, Kabul.
The NATO-led coalition confirmed two foreign soldiers had been shot dead, but did not specify their nationality.
Two US defense officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said both victims were Americans.
Four US soldiers were also wounded, one of the US officials said.
It was the first such “insider” attack this year. There were 10 such incidents last year, resulting in the deaths of 15 members of the International Security Assistance Force, according to Reuters’ totals.
The attacks led the NATO-led force to briefly suspend all joint activities, a cornerstone of its mission in Afghanistan.
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