US forces in Iraq have released more than 10,000 detainees during US Senate approves war funds bill ...
Turkish warplanes strike Kurdish rebels in Iraq ... 2008 - more than they set free in the whole of 2007, officials say.
In a statement, the US military said it was seeking to transfer control of jails to Iraqi authorities.
Some 21,000 Iraqis are still being detained, officials said, down from a peak of 26,000 a year ago.
The US says its commanders are authorised to hold any individual until they are not deemed a threat.
Officials said the average length of detention currently stands at 330 days.
More than 8,900 detainees were freed during 2007, the US said.
Rehabilitation
Correspondents say the issue of the US military prison system has divided Iraqis and proved a stumbling block in discussions over a framework to keep US troops in Iraq beyond the end of the current United Nations mandate.
Under the UN mandate, coalition forces are entitled to detain anyone on the basis of a perceived threat to security, the US military says.
Detentions reached a peak during the summer of 2007 as thousands of extra US troops were deployed in Iraq in a "surge" operation.
The numbers of detainees released has increased in 2008 with the implementation of new screening and rehabilitation programs for inmates.
Moderates were separated from hard-liners and detainees were offered educational and vocational training, the Associated Press reported.
(BBC)
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