Afghanistan releases 10 detained Pakistanis

ISLAMABAD, Dec 20 (Reuters) Afghan authorities today released 10 Pakistanis who were arrested after straying across the border into Afghanistan while cutting firewood, officials said.

The men, including five border security troops, were arrested yesterday in Qilla Saifullah district in southwestern province of Baluchistan.

''They have been freed. They have returned home and are alright,'' a security official in provincial capital, Quetta, told Reuters.

The men's detention follows a sharp deterioration in relations between the neighbours -- major U S allies in the war on terrorism and came on the day Afghanistan announced it had arrested an officer from Pakistan's main spy agency.

Relations between the neighbours have soured over Afghan accusations that resurgent Taliban insurgents are getting help and operating from sanctuaries across the border in Pakistan.

Pakistan was once the Taliban's main sponsor but officially dropped support for the group after the September 11 attacks on the United States.

Islamabad denies it supports the insurgents but acknowledges that some militants are crossing the rugged, porous border, and some former security officers might be helping the Taliban.

Reuters SY DB2132