More Afghan detainees released

The military authorities in the United States say they are returning home a new group of prisoners who'd been detained at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba.

A Pentagon spokesman (Lieutenant-Commander Jeff Davis) said a number of detainees had left the island.

He gave no further details, but press reports say 13 Guantanamo prisoners are to be handed over to the Afghan authorities.

The United States had previously sent home 23 prisoners from the more than 600 at Guantanamo Bay, most of them Afghans.

Human rights groups have called for the rest to be charged or released.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service