The US military will not hand over jails or individual detainees to Iraqi authorities until they demonstrate higher standards of care, a US official said, amid continued violence in the country that left at least 16 dead yesterday.
Lieutenant Colonel Barry Johnson said detention facilities in Iraq will be transferred over time to Iraqi officials but they must first show that the rights of detainees are safeguarded and that international law on the treatment of prisoners is being followed.
"A specific timeline for doing this is difficult to project at this stage with so many variables," Johnson, a military spokesman, said on Sunday. "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."
He was commenting on a New York Times story on Sunday that was the first to report prison facilities wouldn't be handed over until Iraqi officials improved standards.
Prisons have been one of the sore points between the Shiite Muslim majority and Sunni Arabs, a long-dominant minority that saw its power evaporate with Saddam Hussein's overthrow. US officials are pushing to heal the rift as a way to weaken support for the Sunni-led insurgency.
US Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad said earlier this month that at least 120 abused prisoners had been found inside two jails controlled by the Shiite-run Iraqi Interior Ministry.
Sunni Arabs long have complained about abuse and torture by Interior Ministry security forces. Interior Minister Bayan Jabr contends torture allegations have been exaggerated by people who sympathize with insurgents.
Johnson said that in preparation for the eventual handover of prisons, the US Department of Justice is training Iraqi prison guards. About 300 have completed the course, he said.
Meanwhile, at least 16 people died in the latest violence in Iraq yesterday.
Three Iraqis died in a car blast in central Baghdad, witnesses said.
A car driven by a suicide bomber attacked an Iraqi police patrol, killing two policemen and one civilian, they said.
An ambulance rushed to the scene of the explosion as police cordoned off the area.
A shootout between Iraqi police and gunmen in Bahraz, 60km north-east of Baghdad, left 11 dead and three injured, witnesses said.
When gunmen attacked a checkpoint patrolled by Iraqi police and exchanged fire with them, five policemen and six gunmen were killed.
Three other policemen were injured.
Iraqi police vehicles and ambulances rushed to the scene to transfer the injured to the hospital.
In al-Mahmodiya, 30km south of Baghdad, gunmen opened fire on a cargo truck yesterday, killing two Iraqi civilians, a police source said.
The source said that the cargo truck carrying various products, including alcohol, was set on fire by the gunmen after they killed the driver and his assistant.
A civil defense vehicle rushed to the scene to put out the fire and transfer the victims to a nearby hospital.
also see story:
Iraqis experience year of contrasts
As the sun sets on another scorching Yangon day, the hot and bothered descend on the Myanmar city’s parks, the coolest place to spend an evening during yet another power blackout. A wave of exceptionally hot weather has blasted Southeast Asia this week, sending the mercury to 45°C and prompting thousands of schools to suspend in-person classes. Even before the chaos and conflict unleashed by the military’s 2021 coup, Myanmar’s creaky and outdated electricity grid struggled to keep fans whirling and air conditioners humming during the hot season. Now, infrastructure attacks and dwindling offshore gas reserves mean those who cannot afford expensive diesel
‘IN A DIFFERENT PLACE’: The envoy first visited Shanghai, where he attended a Chinese basketball playoff match, and is to meet top officials in Beijing tomorrow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday arrived in China on his second visit in a year as the US ramps up pressure on its rival over its support for Russia while also seeking to manage tensions with Beijing. The US diplomat tomorrow is to meet China’s top brass in Beijing, where he is also expected to plead for restraint as Taiwan inaugurates president-elect William Lai (賴清德), and to raise US concerns on Chinese trade practices. However, Blinken is also seeking to stabilize ties, with tensions between the world’s two largest economies easing since his previous visit in June last year. At the
Does Argentine President Javier Milei communicate with a ghost dog whose death he refuses to accept? Forced to respond to questions about his mental health, the president’s office has lashed out at “disrespectful” speculation. Twice this week, presidential spokesman Manuel Adorni was asked about Milei’s English Mastiff, Conan, said to have died seven years ago. Milei, 53, had Conan cloned, and today is believed to own four copies he refers to as “four-legged children.” Or is it five? In an interview with CNN this month, Milei referred to his five dogs, whose faces and names he had engraved on the presidential baton. Conan,
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese