US Army Releases 250 More Iraqi Prisoners of War - 2003-05-06

The US Army has announced the release of 250 more Iraqi prisoners of war who were captured during the war in Iraq. According to the Central Command of the United States Army, the released prisoners were freed today from a detention facility in southern Iraq. Western news agencies report that each of the released individuals was given food, water, and five dollars for travel expenses, and then they were bused to three cities in southern Iraq. The US Army states that to date, approximately 6,600 Iraqi prisoners of war who either accepted conditional amnesty or were classified as non-combatants have regained their freedom. US forces still hold about two thousand Iraqi prisoners of war in detention facilities in the south of the country. Meanwhile, the International Committee of the Red Cross has announced that it seeks access to all Iraqis held in captivity by the United States and Britain, including a visit to prisoners of war and Iraqis detained whose names are on the list of major wanted individuals. The head of the International Committee of the Red Cross states that the organization has not had free access to prisoners, as stipulated in the Geneva Conventions.