The US military said today it had freed 1,000 detainees from Iraq's notorious Abu Ghraib prison at the Baghdad government's request, in the largest release to date.
It was not clear if the decision was linked to a demand by Arab Sunnis opposed to a draft constitution that authorities release Sunni prisoners so they can participate in a referendum on the text and elections later this year.
"I know this is a big one, but I can't say if it is related to anything that is going on," said US military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Steven Boylan.
The plight of prisoners in the US-run Abu Ghraib, once one of Saddam Hussein's most feared prisons, has been one the most contentious issues for Iraqis since a US-led invasion in 2003.
A scandal broke in the facility west of Baghdad last year when leaked photographs of US military guards abusing prisoners and forcing them to simulate sexual acts provoked an international outcry.
US military lawyers in Baghdad estimate that 80 to 85 percent of those arrested by US forces are released without being convicted.
The military said the released prisoners were not guilty of serious crimes such as bombings, murder, torture or kidnapping and had renounced violence.