Two war prisoners murdered by US forces - report

The US military has investigated the deaths of 25 prisoners held by American forces in Iraq and Afghanistan and determined that…

The US military has investigated the deaths of 25 prisoners held by American forces in Iraq and Afghanistan and determined that two prisoners were murdered by Americans, one an Army soldier and the other a CIA contractor, Army officials said this evening.

An Army official said that a soldier was convicted in the US military justice system of killing a prisoner by hitting him with a rock, and was reduced in rank to private and thrown out of the service but did not serve any jail time.

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said a private contractor who worked for the CIA was also found to have killed a prisoner.

Word of these investigations came as the Pentagon continued to investigate the abuse of Iraqi prisoners by US forces at the Abu Ghraib prison on the outskirts of Baghdad.