Iraqi extremists tortured inmates in US-run prisons, officials say

BAGHDAD - For years, extremist Iraqi detainees in United States custody held self-styled Islamic courts and tortured or killed inmates who refused to join them, military officials said, disclosing new details about the use of American prisons to recruit for the insurgency. The discovery has prompted US officials to begin separating moderate detainees from those they believe to be extremists - part of broader reforms to correct widespread US prison abuse in Iraq that has sparked international criticism. "We were having people who weren't insurgents who were being forced to be insurgents because of the power of these courts, the power of al Qaida and other extremist groups," said Lt Col Kenneth Plowman, spokesman for Task Force 134, which operates coalition detention facilities in Iraq. Plowman told The Associated Press on... [read full story]