(File photo)

    WASHINGTON, Nov. 16 (Xinhuanet) -- The United States has, at various times, detained more than 83,000 foreigners since the war on terror started in 2001, US media reported Wednesday.

    Among them, some 82,400 have been jailed by the US military alone in Afghanistan and Iraq, exceeding the capacity of the Giants Stadium, the second largest football stadium in the United States which can hold 80,242.

    An additional 700 detainees were sent to the US naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where some 500 remain now.

    The majority of the detainees were freed shortly after initial questioning and presently some 14,500 remain in US custody, mostlyin Iraq.

    The massive detention of foreigners started in the fall of 2001 when the first CIA paramilitary officers touched down in Afghanistan and set up more than 20 facilities.

    As of March, 108 detainees were known to have died in US custody and at least 26 deaths have been investigated as criminal homicides.

    US Senate said last week that over 400 criminal investigations of abuses in these prisons have been conducted and 95 US military personnel have been charged and 75 have been convicted.

    The detentions and abuses of foreigners have been widely criticized in the country and abroad.

    However, the Bush administration keeps defending the practice of holding detainees, saying that it is a critical tool to stop the insurgency in Iraq, maintain stability in Afghanistan and ultimately, defend America. Enditem