KANDAHAR, Afghanistan - About 350 Taliban prisoners are believed to be on a hunger strike in Kandahar's city's notorious Sarpoza prison.
Mohammad Shafiq, one of the prisoners, told the Associated Press the inmates began the hunger strike Sunday evening.
They are complaining about poor food, water and health care.
A delegation from the Ministry of Justice is going to the lockup in southern Afghanistan to investigate their complaints.
A Justice Ministry official says a delegation is trying to determine what prompted the hunger strike.
An official at the Sapoza prison in Kandahar city said the hunger strike began after a group of female relatives visited the Taliban prisoners on Sunday.
"I don't understand why they are striking," said Abdullah Bawar, the prison's warden.
"We have been providing food on time. We have been providing medical care on time"
Bawar said the prisoners are refusing to discuss their demands. He suggested that Taliban commanders may have passed orders to them through the visiting women.
Sarpoza prison was the sight of a well-orchestrated breakout by Taliban insurgents in 2008. Some 400 Taliban inmates are thought to have fled.
The Canadian Provincial Reconstruction Team in Kandahar city has been heavily involved in training Sarpoza's prison guards and rebuilding its infrastructure.
-- with files from Associated Press and A.R. Khan
