WASHINGTON, March 28: Afghan forces have turned over to US custody 14 suspected Al Qaeda or Taliban prisoners, bringing to 236 the number the United States holds in Afghanistan, a Pentagon spokesman said Wednesday.

“We took 14 detainees from a compound in Bamiyan, where a number of people are already detained” by allied Afghan forces, Pentagon spokesman Lieutenant Colonel David Lapan said. He said the 14 were brought to the coalition base at Bagram, north of Kabul.

An additional 300 suspected Taliban or Al Qaeda fighters captured in Afghanistan or Pakistan are being held in the US naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Pentagon officials have expressed concern that the arrival of spring could bring more fighting as US soldiers seek out pockets of Al Qaeda and Taliban resistance in eastern Afghanistan.

“The Khost area is a tense situation. It remains a dangerous place,” Air Force Brigadier General John Rosa said.—AFP