WASHINGTON, June 4: The US military has provided details of five incidents in which it says soldiers or interrogators at the Guantanamo Bay prison camp mishandled copies of the Holy Quran, but the inquiry report said no copy of the holy book was ever flushed in a toilet as a now withdrawn magazine report claimed last month.

The inquiry, however, confirms incidents that could spark a new wave of anger in the Muslim world despite Washington’s assurance that it would never condone the desecration of any holy book.

The Pentagon, while releasing copies of a thorough investigation into the allegations of the mistreatment of the Holy Quran, assured the Muslims that overall US soldiers at the camp handled the Holy Quran with respect.

A Newsweek report about this alleged desecration led last month to anti-US anger among Muslims in several countries, anger that boiled over into riots in which as many as 16 people died.

Newsweek later retracted the story after the Pentagon denied it, and the magazine’s source reportedly said he was not sure of his information.

“The inquiry found no credible evidence that a member of the Joint Task Force at Guantanamo Bay ever flushed copy of the Holy Quran down a toilet,” said a statement by the US Southern Command. “This matter is considered closed.”

“We have confirmed that five of these alleged mishandling incidents took place,” said Guantanamo Bay commander Brigadier General Jay Hood.

Four other incidents were examined but could not be confirmed, he said.

“We identified seven incidents (four confirmed) where the guards’ conduct may have been inappropriate,” the statement said, adding that further investigation was not warranted.

“In 31,000 documents covering 28,000 interrogations and countless thousands interactions with detainees, having issued 1,600 copies of the Holy Quran the Southern Command found five incidents of apparent mishandling by guards or interrogators and 15 incidents of mishandling and outright desecration by detainees,” Pentagon spokesman Lawrence Di Rita said.

“Southern Command’s policy of the Holy Quran handling is obviously serious, respectful and appropriate,” he added.