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.

Deputy Justice Minister Busho Ibrahim said 500 were released today from US-run detention centres around the country. Some 13,000 inmates remain in the US facilities, he said.

Maliki has promised to free 2,500 inmates by the end of the month.

The US military has not provided a sectarian breakdown of those being released, but most were believed to be Sunnis, the minority that was dominant under ousted leader Saddam Hussein but lost power when he was ousted.

Sunnis frequently complain of random detentions and maltreatment at the hands of the Shiite-led government and the prisoner releases are seen as a key step towards soothing that anger and dampening the Sunni-led insurgency.