US soldiers up on abuse charges
2005-11-08 07:55
Baghdad - Five United States members of an elite army unit have been charged with kicking and punching detainees in Iraq, the military said on Monday.
The charges were brought on Saturday against five soldiers from the 75th Ranger Regiment in connection with a September 7 incident "in which three detainees were allegedly punched and kicked while awaiting movement to a detention facility," the US military said in a statement.
The military said officials had immediately launched an investigation after discovering the abuse allegations, leading to the charges. Names and ranks of the five soldiers were not released and the statement gave no further details.
Allegations of prisoner abuse at the Abu Ghraib prison in Baghdad gained international notoriety in 2004 after a number of US military personnel were charged with humiliating and assaulting detainees at the facility. Nine army reservists were convicted in the scandal.
The announcement came as President George W Bush vigorously defended US interrogation practices in the war on terror and lobbied against a congressional drive to outlaw torture during a visit to Panama.
- AP