Iraqi prisoners ‘endured mock executions by US marines’

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.

The documents, released yesterday, portray a series of abuse cases stretching beyond the notorious Abu Ghraib prison where photos surfaced this year of US troops forcing prisoners - often naked - to pose in humiliating positions.

The files document a crush of abuse allegations, most from the early months of the US occupation of Iraq, that have swamped investigators. The approximately 10,000 files include investigation reports from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) and witness interviews.