U.S. charges 11 GIs with abuse of Iraq detainees

updated 10:34 a.m. ET July 16, 2005

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Eleven U.S. soldiers have been charged with assaulting detainees in Iraq, the military said Saturday, while three British soldiers were killed by a roadside bomb in a rare attack in the relatively stable southern part of the country.

Also Saturday, suicide attackers killed at least nine Iraqi forces in separate attacks in Baghdad and just south of Mosul as insurgents kept up their campaign against the nation’s U.S.-trained security force.

Iraqi police also arrested a would-be suicide bomber in the capital before he could detonate an explosive belt among a crowd mourning the victims of an attack earlier this week that killed 27 people, mostly children, an official said. It was the second thwarted attack this week.

Soldier complains about alleged abuse
The U.S. military said in a statement that the charges against the 11 troops, who served in the Baghdad area but were not otherwise identified, were filed Wednesday after another soldier complained about the alleged assaults.

“None of the insurgents required medical treatment for injuries related to the alleged assault,” the statement added. “Only one of the suspected terrorists remains in custody of coalition forces at this time.”

The soldiers had been assigned to the Army’s Task Force Baghdad but were taken off-duty pending the investigation, the military said, adding that the Army’s Criminal Investigation Division would determine whether they should face trial by court-martial.

“Allegations of illegal activities will always be thoroughly investigated,” said Lt. Col. Clifford Kent, a Task Force Baghdad spokesman.

U.S. commanders have been especially sensitive about alleged mistreatment of detainees since the abuse of inmates at Abu Ghraib prison resulted in a major scandal involving America’s handling of prisoners both here and in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Condolences for British families
The attack against the British occurred as the troops were on patrol about 2:30 a.m. in the city of Amarah in Maysan province, 180 miles southeast of Baghdad. Three British troops were killed and two wounded, according to Britain’s Ministry of Defense.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair, a staunch U.S. ally, expressed his condolences for the dead soldiers.

“The bravery of our armed forces was yet again underlined as they help Iraq and its people towards the democracy they so desperately want,” Blair said Saturday.

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