US MARINES forced Iraqi youngsters to kneel while troops discharged a weapon in a mock execution, used electric shocks on one prisoner and set fire to a puddle of solvent that burned one of them, according to US Navy documents.

A legal challenge against the detention of nine terror suspects being held at Guantanamo Bay has been launched.

Iraqi authorities expressed surprise and disappointment today at reports that Pentagon lawyers have determined that Saddam Hussein has been a prisoner of war since American forces captured him last month.