U.S. Army investigates detainee deaths in Iraq

By Andrew Gray

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Army is investigating allegations of misconduct against soldiers over the deaths of several detainees in Baghdad last year, officials said on Tuesday.

The allegations involve the deaths of several detainees captured during combat operations in the Iraqi capital by the 2nd brigade combat team of the Army's 1st Infantry Division, Army spokesman Paul Boyce said.

The alleged incidents took place in spring or summer of 2007 in the southern Rashid district of the Iraqi capital, Boyce said. The brigade has since redeployed from Iraq back to its base in Schweinefurt, Germany, Boyce said.

Boyce declined to specify who had made the allegations. But he said, "Traditionally, when units return after such a length of time ... (and) when an allegation comes forward, it's because soldiers may have talked about it amongst themselves."

The allegations came to light about a week ago and the Army's Criminal Investigation Command launched an investigation, Boyce said.

The command said it could not release details about the case, such as how many detainees had died, as investigators were still gathering information.

"We are aggressively pursuing the information that we do have," said Chris Grey, a spokesman for the command. "We're investigating it fully."

The Army announced the investigation on it Web site on Friday. But it went largely unnoticed until it was reported on Tuesday by Stars and Stripes, the newspaper for U.S. troops overseas partly funded by the Defense Department.