US and Iraqi aithorities release 500 more prisoners

US and Iraqi authorities released 500 more prisoners today, the deputy justice minister said, the latest batch of the 2,500 inmates to be freed under Prime Minister Nouri Maliki’s national reconciliation plan.

Hundreds of newly freed men kissed the ground to give thanks as buses, escorted by the US military, dropped them off at a station in Baghdad. A woman wailed as she welcomed the release of her son.