WASHINGTON, D.C.

Army reports 16 new soldier investigations

The Army reported on Friday 16 more criminal investigations into possible misconduct by U.S. soldiers against detainees and civilians in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The revised figures brought to 85 the number of inquiries by the Army’s Criminal Investigation Division into detainee deaths and alleged assaults and thefts by U.S. soldiers in the region over the past year and a half.

Much of the rise reflected a surge in accusations by Iraqis and Afghanis in the wake of the Abu Ghraib prison scandal, according to a senior Army official. The widely publicized revelations about mistreatment encouraged others to come forward with complaints, the official said.

WASHINGTON, D.C.

Court panel throws out judgment for U.S. POWs

An appeals court panel threw out a $959 million judgment Friday for U.S. prisoners of war who say they were tortured by the Iraqi military during the 1991 Gulf War, ruling Congress never authorized such lawsuits against foreign governments.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit overturned a lower court ruling that said 17 former POWs and 37 family members were entitled to the damages under a federal statute allowing suits involving countries which financed or aided terrorists.

The POWs in the suit say they endured severe beatings, starvation, electric shock, threats of amputation and death.