Al Mada newspaper, on its front page, reported that the head of the Iraqi National Security Council, Muafaq al-Rubaie, announced the release of 17 well-known members of the Sadr movement from U.S. prisons.

The paper said this release comes as the Iraqi leadership has pressed the government to release the prisoners. Al Rubaie told the paper the government acknowledged the prisons had many problems.

"This is the reason why we are working now on solving these problems and setting up policies to guarantee the prisoners' release," he said.

Al Taakhi on Thursday quoted Ali al-Dabbagh, spokesman for Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, as saying the Council of Ministers will reconsider the position of private security companies in Iraq "in a way that suits Iraqi laws."