The putrid smell hit as soon as the armed guards opened the creaking wooden door of the old wheat store.
Inside 155 petrified mujahideen soldiers were propped against the walls of the long, dark, narrow room.
The only light was through tiny windows slotted under the roof of this great stone-cut building.
Crushed together, the men gulped in the fresh air when the door opened. They smell was like that of animals in caves.
These holy warriors answered the call for jihad and travelled from Pakistan to Afghanistan to join the Taliban in the fight against the American infidel.
They were rounded up last week by the Taliban conquerors and herded like cattle into this temporary prison in Shiwa village outside Jalalabad.
The soldiers, some as young as 18, were captured while trying to leave Afghanistan after the Taliban fled Kabul.
Their fate is unsure and will be decided on by the new security chief in the eastern province, Hazarat Ali.
There is no court or judicial system in these early days of post-Taliban Afghanistan.
Hazarat Ali alone will be judge and jury.
"He will decide what happens to them. We are waiting for instructions," said Commander Ali who was in charge of the prisoners.
There have been reports of Northern Alliance executing Taliban and al-Qaeda members in the Northern town of Mazar-e-Sharif.
Thousands of fleeing mujahideen have been rounded up all over Afghanistan after the Taliban retreat started.
We were told there were no senior al-Qaeda men in this group. They appeared to be disorganised men who never got to see action against the American enemy.
They are given food and water twice every day. For the rest of the time, they sit on the ground in the dark inhaling the stale air.
Torki Hamad came to Afghanistan from Karachi. "The crusade was announced by Bush so I came to sacrifice myself for the cause of Ali," he said.
"Our leader said we should go so I went. I came alone but along the way we became a group."
Gul Nabi came from Peshawar with four other holy warriors. "We did not find opportunity to fight because the US soldiers have not come here yet," he said.
Sofi Mohammad (19), from Baziristan province in Pakistan, was trying to get home when he was captured.
Are you afraid what will happen? "God almighty will decide my fate. No-one else."
Mohammad Abdul, from the Kashmir border, said he crossed into Afghanistan "in response to Mr Bush's invite".
"He is responsible for all persecutions against Muslims. Mr Bush is responsible for this crusade." Outside armed men kept guard on top of the wheat store. One boy, aged 14, was perched on the rooftop with a rifle.
Meanwhile, Hazarat Ali was attempting to bring some order to Jalalabad yesterday, where men and boys have been roaming the city with weapons. The new governor of this province, Hadji Abdul Qadir, promised last Monday to disarm the population.
A jeep drove through the streets yesterday morning announcing that anyone without authorisation to carry weapons would have their arms confiscated.
But gun shots can still be heard during the day and night in Jalalabad. Looting is rife. A group of 30 men were arrested while looting on Wednesday night.
Civilian cars and vehicles owned by aid organisations have been taken by Hazarat's men.
Law and order will be a long time coming to Jalalabad.