The US military released about 500 Iraqi detainees from the notorious Abu Ghraib prison on Tuesday, an Interior Ministry source told Xinhua.

"The US side informed us that they decided to release 500 prisoners from the US-run jail," the source said.

The Interior Ministry sent several buses to Abu Ghraib prison, known for US soldiers' abuse of Iraqi prisoners, to bring the detainees to the Baghdad International Fair in the center of the capital, the source added.

Iraqi security forces tightened security around the area of the exhibition, where dozens of Iraqis waited for their loved kin to arrive. 

Early last month, the US military freed some 1,000 Iraqi detainees from Abu Ghraib prison in honor of the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan.

The US military did not confirm the ministry's information.

(Xinhua News Agency November 2, 2005)