BAGHDAD, 26 December 2005 — The US military will not hand over detention facilities or individual detainees to Iraqi officials until they’ve demonstrated higher standards of care, a US official said yesterday, two weeks after the discovery of 120 abused Iraqi prisoners. At least 17 people died yesterday in violence, including one US soldier.
Lt. Col. Barry Johnson said detention facilities in Iraq will be transferred over time to Iraqi officials but that they must first demonstrate that detainees’ human rights aren’t being violated and that international law is being followed.
“A specific timeline for doing this is difficult to project at this stage with so many variables,” said Johnson, a military spokesman. “The Iraqis are committed to doing this right and will not rush to failure. The transition will be based on meeting standards, not on a timeline.”
Meanwhile, hundreds of Shiites spilled into Baghdad streets to support their governing religious coalition, which took a large lead in the Dec. 15 parliamentary elections and has been the target of opposition vote rigging claims. Smaller demonstrations were held by Sunni groups in the western Anbar city of Fallujah and in eastern Baquba to support demands for a rerun of the elections, which they claim were tainted by fraud.
Iraqi President Jalal Talabani said a new government would not be formed without Sunni Arabs.
Seventeen people were killed in violence around Iraq, including a US soldier killed by a bomb in Baghdad. Five Iraqi soldiers were killed by a suicide car bomb in the capital.
US Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad said this month that at least 120 abused prisoners had been found in two detention facilities run by the Shiite-led Interior Ministry.
Sunnis have long complained about abuse and torture by Interior Ministry security forces. Interior Minister Bayan Baker Solagh has said torture allegations have been exaggerated by people who sympathize with the Sunni-led insurgency.
The Iraqi government and multinational forces are planning and coordinating for the Iraqis to ultimately take full control of detention facilities, Johnson said. The US Department of Justice is training Iraqi prison guards, he said. About 300 Iraqis have already completed the course.
The New York Times first reported yesterday that facilities wouldn’t be handed over until Iraqi officials demonstrate higher standards.
Two mortar rounds landed near the heavily fortified Green Zone yesterday, and a roadside bomb damaged an American tank east of Baghdad. There were no immediate reports of injuries, but AP Television News footage and photos showed an Abrams main battle tank in flames.
A suicide car bomber slammed into two Iraqi Army vehicles in central Baghdad, killing five soldiers and wounding seven police and civilians, police Maj. Mohammed Younis said. A second suicide car bomb targeting Iraqi police in Baghdad wounded four officers, police said.
In the suburb of Sadr City, about 1,000 demonstrators held a rally to support preliminary results showing the governing United Iraqi Alliance leading in the elections.
