500 Abu Ghraib detainees released

US and Iraqi authorities freed 500 detainees from the notorious Abu Ghraib prison yesterday in a goodwill gesture to Sunnis ahead of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, as insurgents killed at least 10 people with a suicide bomb targeting police and government workers.

After a brief ceremony outside the prison on the outskirts of Baghdad, the 500 left the area on public buses. They were the first of 1,000 to be freed before Ramadan begins next week, the US military said.

Abu Ghraib gained international notoriety after US military personnel running the prison were charged with humiliating and assaulting detainees there.