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ABC News reported that some U.S.-trained units are under
investigation for committing some of the same atrocities as the
Islamic State, citing an unnamed Pentagon official.
ABC said the investigation, conducted by the Iraqi government,
was launched after officials were confronted with allegations of
war crimes based partly on videos and photos that appear to show
uniformed soldiers massacring civilians, torturing and executing
prisoners and displaying severed heads.
Senator Patrick Leahy, the author of the law, said foreign
security forces are not eligible for U.S. aid if there is
credible evidence that they have committed crimes such as
torture, rape or executions of prisoners, if they are not being
appropriately punished.
"If their (ABC's) information is accurate, the burden is on the
Iraqi Government to punish those involved and on the Departments
of State and Defense to insist that they do so and to offer
support in investigating and punishing those involved as the law
calls for," Leahy said in a statement.
"Otherwise the Iraqi units involved should be deemed ineligible
for U.S. aid," he said.
A U.S. military official, speaking on condition of anonymity,
told Reuters: "We have withheld assistance from certain Iraqi
units on the basis of credible information in the past. Due to
the sensitive nature of our security assistance, we are unable
to discuss specifics."
The official was unaware of the specific instances cited in the
ABC report, however.
(Reporting by Patricia Zengerle and Phil Stewart; editing by
Andrew Hay)
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