BAGHDAD, Sept. 16 (Xinhuanet) -- Around 10,000 prisoners are held in custody across Iraq, 3,800 more than the previous figure, the US military said Tuesday.

　　The extra number of prisoners were newly announced because they had previously not been categorized and were only recently been classified as "security detainees," Brigadier General Janis Karpinski told reporters at Abu Ghuraib detainee center, 20 km westof Baghdad.

　　The prisoners are held in northern Iraq currently controlled by the 4th Infantry Division, added Karpinski, commander of the 800th Military Police Brigade in charge of prisons and detention centres in Iraq.

　　Karpinski explained that the "security detainees" are those who attacked or suspected of involvement in such attacks.

　　The American troops are encountering an average of 15 daily attacks by unknown fighters, who have killed over 70 US soldiers since US President George W. Bush declared the major combat over onMay 1.

　　There are now a total of 4,400 prisoners classified as security detainees, in addition to 300 prisoners of war and 5,300 criminals,she added.

　　Several hundred of the prisoners are third country nationals, including six claiming to be Americans and two who said they were Britons, Karpinski said.

　　Most of the prisoners were detained during the war while the rest were arrested after May 1, she said. Enditem