KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) – The U.S. military freed 81 prisoners held in Afghanistan on Sunday, and the country’s most senior judge said the government was pressing for the release of hundreds more from American custody.

The prisoner release ahead of the Muslim feast of Eid al-Adha, which begins Jan. 20, could help a reconciliation drive with former Taliban regime members sought by both President Hamid Karzai and the American military in hopes of defusing a stubborn insurgency hampering Afghanistan’s recovery.

In fresh violence, officials said a roadside bomb killed an Afghan soldier in eastern Kunar province on Friday, an Afghan died trying to plant a similar device further south on Saturday and a grenade attack injured a pro-government mullah in central Uruzgan province.

Karzai’s office said the prisoners were freed thanks to “cooperation” between the government and the U.S. military.

“Bringing happiness to a Muslim family during Eid is a great reward, and our people should also live joyfully during Eid like other Muslims around the world,” the president said, according to an e-mailed statement.

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