US anger as Afghanistan releases 65 alleged Taliban fighters from Bagram prison

Scores of alleged Taliban fighters walked free from jail in Afghanistan on Thursday, triggering condemnation from the United States which said they were responsible for killing Nato and Afghan soldiers as well as civilians.

The release of the Bagram prisoners is set to further worsen the bitter relationship between Kabul and Washington as US-led foreign troops prepare to withdraw after 13 years fighting the Islamist militants.

“The 65 prisoners were freed and walked out of the Bagram prison compound this morning,” Abdul Shukor Dadras, a member of the Afghan government’s review body, said.

“Their cases were reviewed and we had no reason to keep them in jail.”

The US embassy criticised the releases as “a deeply regrettable” move that could lead to further violence in Afghanistan, which has suffered a bloody Taliban insurgency since 2001.

“The Afghan government bears responsibility for the results of its decision,” the embassy said in a statement. “We urge it to make every effort to ensure that those released do not commit new acts of violence and terror.”

But President Hamid Karzai has called Bagram prison a “Taliban-producing factory” and alleged that some detainees were tortured into hating their country.

Before the release, the US military described the men as “dangerous individuals” directly linked to attacks that killed or wounded 32 ato personnel and 23 Afghans.