"I'm innocent. I did nothing wrong," Fahed, a former Ministry of Interior bodyguard said later. "In our area [neighborhood] there were some suspected people, they had guns, and when coalition forces arrested them I was arrested too.

"All I want to do is go home now."

Fahad, 26, wasn't bent on escape or annoying his guards in the basement jail of COP (combat operations post) Callahan in northeast Baghdad. He was, however, anxious and excited – within minutes 15 months of captivity would end and he'd be one of the thousands of Iraqi detainees released by U.S. forces this year after they were determined to no longer pose a threat to coalition troops or the Iraqi government.

Gen. David Petraeus, commander of U.S. forces in Iraq, said recently more than 10,000 Iraqis in U.S. custody have been released this year following changes in detainee operations and programs. Figures from Task Force 134, which handles detainee affairs in Iraq, show that 8,900 people were released from U.S. military custody in 2007.

The total number of Iraqi detainees in U.S. custody is currently around 21,000. The majority are being held at Camp Bucca in southern Iraq where they are segregated to keep hardcore extremists from interacting with other inmates. The second detention area is Camp Cropper near Baghdad. Abu Ghraib, where Army National Guardsmen abused prisoners in 2004, has been closed.

On average, some 30 new people are detained around Iraq by U.S. forces each day on suspicion of involvement in terrorist activity, for committing terrorist acts against coalition forces, or for breaking Iraqi security laws. About 45 are being released from detention each day.

"Before I received this assignment I was a member of a review board at one of the facilities," said Maj. Geoff Greene, executive officer of the 1st Battalion, 68th Armored Regiment at COP Callahan. "Of the 220 or so cases I handled, I recommended release for about 40 percent of them. I don't feel threatened or worried about releasing the ones I released. The reason is, I believe some people simply got caught up in being arrested" and the others committed minor offenses and probably won't do so again.

The changes in U.S. military detention policy came in August last year when the U.S. military established Multi-National Forces Review Committee (MNFRC) boards through a series of agreements with the government of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. Those held by U.S. authorities for offenses directed at coalition forces appear before a series of panels to assess the charges originally brought against them, information gathered during questioning before and after detention, their behavior while in captivity and the likelihood of the detainee committing new offenses if released.

The prisoners' reviews are scheduled for every six months. But in June Army Maj. Gen. Douglas Stone, the former commander of TF-134, said the average interval was a little over four months.

The MNFRC process begins for a prisoner after the initial two-week detention period, when evidence is gathered and reviewed and interrogations are held at various unit levels before the prisoner is sent to the main detention center if not released or claimed by Iraqi authorities for their own prosecution.

In addition to new detainees, those arrested and incarcerated prior to establishment of the boards have become part of the review process.

While in captivity prisoners no longer sit idle, officials said. Hoping to help reinclusion into society and deter re-offending behavior, the military has arranged job-skill classes and education courses for inmates. Detainees also receive counseling from a Muslim cleric and speak to an Iraqi social worker.

Fahad claimed innocence. It couldn't be immediately verified. Official documents were unavailable. And following a release ceremony at an outpost closer to his native Sha'ab district – it included signing a pledge to the Iraqi government not to commit offenses again – his focus was strictly on reuniting with waiting family.

"Please, please don't do anything bad again," Kais Alwan al-Mussawi, a district council member in charge of detainee affairs had told Fahad and those released with him. "We hope for a new Iraq and if you have problems, have people threaten you, then please call the Iraqi Army, the force here, the Americans and we can help you.

"We don't want to send you to jail again. It is very hard on your families and there is no one to care for them. You are starting a new life and we will help."