WASHINGTON, May 7: US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld admitted on Friday that America failed to meet its obligations in Iraq and apologized to the Iraqi nation for abuses committed by some US soldiers.

In an apparent attempt to protect President Bush from possible repercussions of the Abu Ghraib prison disgrace, Mr Rumsfeld said he failed to inform Mr Bush of the full extent and seriousness of the abuses.

Mr Rumsfeld, who was summoned before the Senate Armed Services Committee to testify on the reported abuses, also regretted of not having shared the information with the Senate before he was called.

"Let me be clear. I failed to recognize how important it was to elevate a matter of such gravity to the highest levels, including the president and the members of Congress."

Accepting full responsibility for the mistreatment of Iraqi prisoners, he declared: "These events occurred on my watch. As Secretary of Defence, I am accountable for them. I take full responsibility." His gesture, however, failed to convince protesters who interrupted him, shouting: "Fire Rumsfeld."

Mr Rumsfeld, who usually deals with such interruptions with jokes and smiles, sat silently with almost a blank face, as the Senate security personnel ejected the hecklers.

"I feel terrible about what happened to these Iraqi detainees," said the US Defence Secretary. "They are human beings, they were in US custody, our country had an obligation to treat them right, we didn't, and that was wrong. So, to those Iraqis who were mistreated by members of the US armed forces, I offer my deepest apology."

Mr Rumsfeld told the committee that he is establishing an independent panel to look into the abuses. He said he is seeking a way to financially compensate those who were abused.

Mr Rumsfeld, however, brushed aside demands for his resignation. "I would not resign simply because people try to make a political issue out of it," he said. Several US lawmakers have demanded his resignation.

Mr Rumsfeld, who looked chastened and subdued, said he considered the abuse "acts that can only be described as blatantly sadistic, cruel and inhuman." He said the visual images had conveyed the abuse with "vividness, indeed a horror" to the world.

He then hastened to assure the Iraqis that the abuses will be investigated and those responsible punished. "We will strive to do our best as imperfect as it may be," he said after declaring that he felt "the heartbreak of acknowledging the evil in our midst."

Mr Rumsfeld said the acts of a few American soldiers do not represent the values and conduct of most American military men and women in Iraq. "They're truly wonderful human beings," he said.

Members of the committee, Republicans and Democrats alike, have expressed extreme annoyance over not being informed about the photographs of sexual humiliation and physical abuses of prisoners before they were broadcast.

President Bush also has expressed similar regrets and is believed to have personally admonished Mr Rumsfeld for not informing him.