Nation briefs 3/27/05

Army probe finds abuse at base near Mosul

WASHINGTON -- Newly released government documents say the abuse of prisoners in Iraq by U.S. forces was more widespread than previously reported. An officer found that detainees "were being systematically and intentionally mistreated" at a holding facility near Mosul in December 2003. The 311th Military Intelligence Battalion of the Army's 101st Airborne Division ran the lockup. The documents released Friday were the first to reveal abuses at the jail in Mosul and are among the few to allege torture directly.

Police question man in girl's disappearance

IOWA CITY, Iowa -- Police were investigating whether a body found Friday is that of a 10-year-old girl who authorities said vanished with a registered sex offender. Cedar Rapids police canceled an Amber Alert for Jetseta Marrie Gage after the body was found in a rundown mobile home in a rural area near the small town of Kalona, about 45 miles south of Cedar Rapids. A positive identification of the body had not been made. Roger Bentley, 37, a family acquaintance, was charged late Friday with felony child stealing and was being held in the Linn County Jail in Cedar Rapids. He is accused of taking Jetseta from her mother's house in nearby Cedar Rapids on Thursday night.

Army: Soldiers won't be prosecuted over deaths

WASHINGTON -- Army officials have decided not to prosecute 17 soldiers involved in the deaths of prisoners in Iraq and Afghanistan, a military report says. Military investigators recommended courts-martial for the soldiers in the cases of three prisoner deaths for charges ranging from making false statements to murder. Officers rejected those recommendations, ruling that the soldiers lawfully used force or didn't understand the rules for using force, or that there was not enough evidence to prosecute.