US and Britain condemn abuse of Iraqi prisoners

THE US and Britain denounced the abuse of Iraqi detainees by US forces and vowed to punish those responsible as the Arab world reacted angrily to photographs from inside an Iraqi prison shown by CBS television in America.

President George W Bush said he was disgusted by the images. "I shared a deep disgust that those prisoners were treated the way they were treated. Their treatment does not reflect the nature of the American people. That's not the way we do things in America."

British Prime Minister Tony Blair also condemned the abuse, which took place at Abu Gharib prison outside Baghdad, while the Arab League in Cairo called on the US-led coalition in Iraq to punish those responsible for what it called "savage acts".