KABUL, July 9 (Xinhuanet) -- US military freed 76 Taliban suspected Saturday in Afghan capital Kabul to encourage more militants to lay down arms.

   These persons were freed from the US military base at Bagram in north Kabul.

   "Most of them were from active southern and eastern Afghanistan, and were detained during the US-led war against Taliban remains and other militants after the collapse of the Taliban regime in late 2001," Sibghatullah Mujadadi, a former resistance leader who heads the government's reconciliation initiative, said.

   "They will be sent back directly to their hometown after release," Mujadadi said.

   US military, in coordination with Afghan government, has set free 57 suspected Taliban militants early this month in Kabul.

   In the efforts to end Taliban-led militancy and stabilize security in the war-torn nation, President Hamid Karzai has announced amnesty for all armed opposition groups except Taliban's
chief Mullah Mohammad Omar and his close aids and commanders numbering 150.

   To implement the agenda, the president constituted a committee under the leadership of Mujadadi and authorized him to push ahead with reconciliation policy.

   Under the policy, over 200 suspected Taliban detainees were released this year, while over 400 Afghans with the suspicion of having links with Taliban and al-Qaida are still languishing in some 23 US detention centers in Afghanistan. Enditem