2 may have been tortured to death

BAGHDAD, Iraq — Two detainees may have been tortured to death at the hands of Iraqi security forces, the head of a commission investigating allegations of abuse at Iraqi jails said Tuesday.

But the precise cause of their deaths is unclear, Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Rosh Shawais, who is heading the investigation, said in an interview.

Detainees told investigators that the two alleged victims were tortured or starved to death, while prison officials say the pair died of natural causes.

In all, U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad told reporters Tuesday, at least 120 prisoners allegedly have been abused at the hands of Iraqi security forces, more than previously disclosed by the government of Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari. As many as 18 prisoners may have died while in custody at a Baghdad detention center first identified last month in a Los Angeles Times report.

Shawais, an ethnic Kurd, said he is continuing to investigate reports of other deaths.

Reports of prisoner abuse in Iraqi-run jails first surfaced last month after U.S. soldiers raided a compound in the Jadiriya section of Baghdad and discovered scores of men showing signs of hunger and torture.

Officials last week discovered another detention center where at least 13 prisoners showed signs of physical abuse. On Monday, a Sunni politician released a DVD purportedly showing tortured detainees at a third facility, though the allegation could not be confirmed.

Shawais has presented a report to the prime minister detailing preliminary findings regarding alleged torture at the first compound discovered last month. He said his committee will finish its final report before the end of the year. He requested an extension of the deadline to widen the scope of the investigation.

The allegations of abuses of suspected Sunni Arabs by security forces that are dominated by Shiite Muslims have become intertwined with the fierce political campaign, which came to an official halt Tuesday to give voters a day to consider their choices.

A secular coalition led by former interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi, which is running against the Shiite-led government, has alleged human-rights conditions in Iraq are now as bad as under Saddam Hussein.

Al-Jaafari, at a luncheon organized for journalists, vowed Tuesday that his government would seriously examine the allegations. "We should provide prisoners with facilities that are up to international standards," he said.

But he and his deputies also tried to minimize the issue, with one adviser arguing that Iraqis were far more concerned about bread-and-butter issues such as jobs, electricity and water than the prisoner abuse scandal.