September 23, 2008	Tuesday	Ramazan 22, 1429

BAGHDAD, Sept 22: The US military said on Monday it had freed another batch of detainees held in Iraq this week, bringing to 1,449 the number of people released during Ramazan.

The number of detainees released during this third week averaged 75 per day compared with 19 who were detained daily, it said in a statement.

Earlier this month, the military announced that it planned to free a total of 3,000 inmates during Ramazan. The latest military statement said it did not anticipate any delays or unexpected interruptions to the release process.

“Currently, there are about 18,800 detainees in coalition theatre internment facilities, down dramatically from the high of about 26,000 in November 2007,” the statement said.

Since the start of 2008, more than 13,200 detainees have been released, the statement added.

The US military has two prisons, Camp Cropper near Baghdad airport and Camp Bucca near the southern city of Basra. Most detainees spend an average of one year behind bars, generally without being formally charged.—AFP