born law professor, said he was concerned over allegations of illegal detention and torture by international forces in Afghanistan, but did not give details. A U.S.-led force has been fighting Taliban and al-Qaida holdouts in the country for more than three years, and hunting Osama bin Laden and other al-Qaida leaders believed hiding along the mountainous Afghan-Pakistani border. Separately, NATO peacekeepers maintain order in the capital, Kabul, and expect to expand operations to other regions. At least eight prisoners have died in American custody in Afghanistan since U.S. and allied Afghan forces ousted the Taliban in late 2001 for harboring bin Laden. Some former prisoners have alleged they were mistreated. On Sunday, as Bassiouni ended his visit to Afghanistan, the U.S. military in the country rejected claims of torture against detainees. "They are treated humanely, and people who run the facilities are well-trained," Maj. Steve Wollman, a U.S. military spokesman, said in Kabul. Bassiouni said he was refused permission to visit the main U.S. holding facilities at Bagram, north of Kabul, and Kandahar in the south.
