Since the US invaded Iraq in 2003, it has detained an estimated 100,000 people in its military-run jails.
But now former inmates of one prison have told Al Jazeera it was used as a recruiting and training ground for al-Qaeda.
Camp Bucca was shut down in September, but the US still holds thousands of prisoners in Iraq, ahead of a planned handover to local authorities some time next year.
Zeina Khodr has our report.