WASHINGTON, April 23: A US Army report has cleared senior army officers of wrongdoing in the abuse of prisoners in Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The only senior army officer recommended for punishment for the failures that led to abuses at the Abu Ghraib prison is Brig Gen Janis L. Karpinski, who was in charge of US prison facilities in Iraq in late 2003 and early 2004. She is expected to receive an administrative reprimand for dereliction of duty, which could cost her military career.

Gen Karpinski has said she would fight such a charge and her attorney, Neal A. Puckett, however, said other general officers share responsibility for shortfalls.

So far parts of the report by the Army Inspector General’s office has been made public in US newspapers on Saturday.

According to these reports, the investigation cleared Lt Gen Ricardo S. Sanchez and three of his senior deputies, ruling that allegations they failed to prevent or stop abuses were “unsubstantiated.” A 10-member team, appointed by the Inspector General’s office, began the investigation in October and based its conclusions on the 10 major defence inquiries into abuse and interviews with 37 senior officials, including L. Paul Bremer, who led the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq.

The report identified 125 soldiers and officers who were either tried at courts-martial or issued administrative punishments for detainee abuses in Iraq and Afghanistan.