02 May 2004	Sunday	11 Rabi-ul-Awwal 1425

WASHINGTON, May 1: Iraqi prisoners faced numerous "sadistic, blatant and wanton criminal abuses" by US soldiers, including beatings, according to a US Army report quoted by the New Yorker magazine.

The New Yorker said it had obtained a 53-page, internal military report into abuses at the Abu Ghraib prison, outside Baghdad. In an article posted on its Web site on Saturday, the magazine said the report had been authorized by Lt Gen Ricardo Sanchez, the top US official in Iraq, and was completed in February.

The May 10 issue of the magazine goes on sale on Monday.

The army report listed abuses such as "breaking chemical lights and pouring the phosphoric liquid on detainees; ... beating detainees with a broom handle and a chair; threatening male detainees with rape; allowing a military police guard to stitch the wound of a detainee who was injured after being slammed against the wall in his cell; sodomizing a detainee with a chemical light and perhaps a broom stick".

The report, written by Maj Gen Antonio Taguba, said evidence to support the allegations included "detailed witness statements and the discovery of extremely graphic photographic evidence".

A U.S. defense official said he had not specifically heard about the report cited by the New Yorker, but added: "We take all reports of detainee abuse seriously. All allegations of mistreatment are investigated. We are committed to treating all persons under our control with dignity, respect and humanity ... . The US Army has acted immediately in all cases of alleged abuse."

INVESTIGATION UNDER WAY: News of the military report comes days after photographs showing abuse by US troops of Iraqi prisoners were published and broadcast around the globe.

The photos showed U.S. troops smiling, posing, laughing or giving the thumbs-up sign as Iraqi prisoners were beaten up and humiliated.

U.S. President George W. Bush said on Friday he was deeply disgusted by the abuse but said only a "few people" were to blame. He defended the conduct of the occupation forces as the White House scrambled to head off a backlash in Iraq and across the Arab world.

U.S. officials said on Thursday that the military is weighing disciplinary action against the Army general who was in charge of the Abu Ghraib prison.

The military now holds several thousand prisoners at Abu Ghraib, most of them rounded up on suspicion of carrying out attacks against US-led forces.

The US military announced on March 20 it had brought criminal charges against six soldiers with the 800th Military Police Brigade, which could lead to courts-martial. The charges, stemming from a probe launched in January, relate to accusations of abuses carried out in November and December on around 20 detainees at the prison.

The charges included indecent acts with another person, maltreatment, battery, dereliction of duty and aggravated assault.-Reuters