Four Detainees Escape From Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan

U.S. and Afghan troops have launched a major ground and air search for four suspected militants who escaped Monday from the heavily guarded main U.S. base in Afghanistan.

News reports from the capital, Kabul, say the four men are Arabs from Syria, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Libya.

U.S. military officials identify them only as "dangerous enemy combatants." They say this is the first time any prisoner has broken out of the Bagram facility.

Meanwhile the United States announced Monday it will send up to 700 extra soldiers to Afghanistan, saying the country's parliamentary elections must go ahead as planned in September.

The U.S. military says the extra troops are designed to counter expected attacks by rebels from the ousted Taleban regime, who have launched a new offensive ahead of the polls.