The Taleban authorities in Afghanistan say they have released more than one-hundred prisoners of war belonging to the opposition Northern Alliance as a gesture of good will.

A senior Taleban spokesman, Mullah Abdul Hai Mutmaeen, told the BBC that the men were freed in the city of Kandahar on the orders of the Taleban leader, Mullah Mohammad Omar.

Last week, both sides agreed to release one-thousand prisoners each, but so far no major exchange of prisoners has taken place.