Afghanistan freed 65 Taliban militants from jail, Thursday, drawing strong disapproval from the United States and worsening the relationship between the two countries.
The United States warned the Afghan government of the serious security threat if they were released. Officials in Washington also stressed that these militants might try to kill coalition and Afghan forces. Some of these freed militants were responsible for killing NATO and Afghan soldiers and civilians.
The prisoners were released Thursday morning from Bagram, near capital Kabul. Afghan Defense Ministry spokesman Zahir Azimi said the released prisoners will be sent back to their homes across Afghanistan, reports Reuters.
The U.S. condemned the move saying that it was "deeply regrettable" and it could further set off violence in Afghanistan. The decision comes at a point when U.S.-led foreign troops get ready to withdraw after 13 years in Afghanistan.
"The Afghan government bears responsibility for the results of its decision," the U.S. embassy in Kabul, said in a statement on its website, reports the Associated Press. "We urge it to make every effort to ensure that those released do not commit new acts of violence and terror."
Prior to the release, the U.S. army said the prisoners had direct connections to the attack that killed and injured 32 NATO staff and 23 civilians. It also revealed the background details of the militants. The army said one prisoner, Mohammad Wali, was an expert at making explosives and "biometrically linked" to two bombings against troops in Helmand province, reports the Agence France-Presse. "Violent criminals who harm Afghans and threaten the peace and security of Afghanistan should face justice in the Afghan courts," the US force said in a statement late Wednesday.
Despite all the warnings about the prisoners, the Afghan review board overruled the challenges. "Their cases were reviewed and we had no reason to keep them in jail," Abdul Shukor Dadras, a member of the Afghan government's review body, told AFP.
Reacting to the release, President Karzai said the high security Bagram detention centre was a "Taliban-making factory," where innocent people are "turned against their own country, against their own government," reports BBC.
According to Reuters, one U.S. official said that the Afghan government was reviewing another 23 prisoners, whom the Washington said were dangerous.
