A coalition military press release issued at the time of Abu Nasir al-Qahtani's arrest described him only as a "known al Qaeda terrorist" and said he was detained along with Saudi and Pakistani nationals.

    Al-Qahtani was one of four al Qaeda detainees who escaped from the high-security detention facility at the U.S. base in Bagram in July 2005.

    Another of the four escapees, Omar al-Farouq, was killed in late September in Iraq's Basra by British troops.

    A coalition spokesman in Kabul said Monday that grenades, military equipment, armor-piercing rounds and AK-47 assault rifles were found during last week's raid. A camera containing surveillance video of nearby military installations also was recovered.

    Meanwhile, a report released in Kabul on Monday said rising violence in Afghanistan has killed over 3,700 people this year.

    The report, released by Joint Coordination and Monitoring Board (JCMB), said the number of security incidents involving insurgents and terrorists have increased from less than 300 per month by the end of March 2006 to over 600 per month by the end of September, compared with some 130 per month in 2005 on average.

    The JCMB, which consists of 28 Afghan and international officials, is charged with overseeing the implementation of a five-year blue print for Afghan reconstruction signed in February.

    (Agencies)