Two More Iraq Prison Deaths Made Public

WASHINGTON - The number of prisoner deaths in Iraq (news - web sites) and Afghanistan (news - web sites) known to be under U.S. investigation or already blamed on Americans rose to 14 on Wednesday, including two additional deaths being scrutinized by the CIA (news - web sites)'s inspector general. President Bush (news - web sites) told Arab television the treatment of Iraqi prisoners was "abhorrent," but stopped short of apologizing.


Bush appeared on Arab television the day after the Army disclosed that it is conducting criminal investigations of 10 prisoner deaths in U.S. custody in Iraq and Afghanistan, plus another 10 abuse cases.


In addition, the deaths of two Iraqi prisoners already have been ruled homicides, the Army said Tuesday. In one case, a soldier was court-martialed, reduced in rank and discharged from the Army. In the other case, a CIA contract interrogator's conduct has been referred to the Justice Department (news - web sites) for criminal prosecution, the Army said.


Meanwhile, an intelligence official said Wednesday that the CIA inspector general is investigating two other deaths involving CIA interrogators. One took place at an Afghan prison near the Pakistan border in June 2003 and involved an independent contractor working for the CIA. The other death occurred at another, unspecified location in Iraq and involved a CIA interrogator, the official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity.

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