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Iraq jails stay under US control

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.

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Iraqis experience year of contrasts

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