Government condemns Abu Ghraib torture

? The Iraqi government Thursday condemned the past abuse of Iraqi prisoners shown in new pictures from the Abu Ghraib prison scandal, and a Web site said it had obtained more than 1,000 photos, videos and supporting documents from the U.S. Army investigation of the case.

In a carefully worded statement, Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari’s office said the government “strongly denounces such acts” but welcomed the “firm denunciation” issued by the Bush administration of past abuses at Abu Ghraib.

The statement also noted that the pictures and videos, first published Wednesday by an Australian television broadcaster, were from 2003 and that “the issue was dealt with at that time and the people involved were prosecuted.”

Although both Iraqi and U.S. authorities sought to play down the latest pictures, the Web site Salon.com said it had obtained what it believed was the complete report by the Army Criminal Investigation Command of its 2004 investigation of the case.