Sunday August 28


BAGHDAD (AFP) - A detainee has escaped from the notorious Iraqi prison of Abu Ghraib, which is operated by the US military.

"At approximately 6:15 am (0215 GMT), US forces discovered the detainee was missing during a normal headcount," a US military statement said without specifying the nationality of the detainee.

"Two holes were found in the fence line surrounding the compound where the detainee escaped," the statement added Sunday.

The US military announced Saturday that it had released around 1,000 prisoners from Abu Ghraib prison, in the largest single release since the US military took it over as a detention facility in the aftermath of the March 2003 invasion.

US Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad alluded Sunday that the release will be followed by similar waves.

"This is not a one-time action. The United States... is working with the Iraqi government to accelerate the judicial process to release detainees who are not guilty of serious acts of violence and who pledge their willingness to become good citizens of the new Iraq," he said in a statement.