US general suspended over alleged abuse of prisoners

Ten US soldiers were killed in ambushes in Iraq yesterday as a US general was suspended over alleged abuse of about 20 Iraqi …

Ten US soldiers were killed in ambushes in Iraq yesterday as a US general was suspended over alleged abuse of about 20 Iraqi inmates in a Baghdad prison, which included forcing them into acts of sexual humiliation.

The US confirmed yesterday that Brig Gen Janice Karpinski, who ran the prison, has been suspended after photographs depicting the torture and humiliation were shown on US television.

Six other soldiers were charged in connection with the alleged abuse.

One photograph shows a hooded Iraqi prisoner standing on a box with wires attached to his hands. If he falls, he is told, he will be electrocuted. Another shows a pyramid of naked male bodies with a grinning female soldier giving a V sign. A third shows a naked captive being forced to simulate oral sex with another, while soldiers jeer. Yet another shows a prisoner with electrodes attached to his genitals.

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The location is the notorious Abu Ghraib prison in Baghdad, where Saddam Hussein's thugs once tortured Iraqis. Several of the photographs were shown on CBS's 60 Minutes on Wednesday evening.

The graphic images stunned American viewers, who have been told frequently by President Bush that the US-led invasion was justified partly by the brutal treatment of prisoners under Saddam.

Yesterday in Iraq eight soldiers were killed in a single attack by an apparent suicide car-bomber. The car-bomb went off just south of Baghdad at about 11.30 a.m. local time.

Two other soldiers were killed in separate incidents.

While the US seemed to have struck a deal over the volatile town of Falluja, with Marines ready to pull back from positions in the besieged area, gunfire continued last night and the US carried out air strikes.

In Washington, the US Deputy Defence Secretary, Mr Paul Wolfowitz, said the situation in Falluja was "confusing" but a deal was being worked on. Doctors say about 600 people have been killed since Marines encircled the city at the beginning of April.

President Bush came under pressure himself yesterday as both he and Vice-President Dick Cheney gave evidence behind closed doors to the independent commission investigating the September 11th attacks.

The session focused partly on whether Iraq distracted the Bush administration from the war on al-Qaeda, and came on a day when a new poll in the US showed support for the Iraq war has fallen sharply.

Mr Bush said afterwards, "I answered every question I was asked," and "I'm glad I did it, I'm glad I took the time, so they can help make recommendations necessary to protect the homeland."

(Additional reporting Reuters)