The U.S. military in Iraq says it has freed 500 detainees from Baghdad's Abu Ghraib prison, including two Iraqi journalists who had been held for months without charges.
A U.S. statement on Sunday said all of the freed prisoners had renounced violence, and that none had committed serious crimes. The two journalists, who work for Reuters News Agency, were arrested in August and September. Reuters says at least three other journalists, including a freelance cameraman working for the news agency, remain in custody. Meanwhile, Iraqi judicial officials say a delegation is trying to persuade the chief judge in the trial of Saddam Hussein not to quit. Judge Rizgar Amin submitted his resignation Saturday, following criticism that he had let the ousted Iraqi president dominate the court proceedings. Saddam is on trial for the 1982 killings of 140 people in a Shi'ite village that was the site of a failed attempt on his life.