Brits in Iraq: US Military Bosses Were 'Like Martians'

(NEWSER) - British troops called Iraqi detainees "apes," beat them so that their moans of pain sounded like an "orchestrated choir," and forced them to dance like Michael Jackson, a public inquiry into the death of one of the detainees heard yesterday. The inquiry panel was told that Baha Mousa, a hotel worker, died from 93 injuries inflicted over 36 hours in British custody during the 2003 incident, the Telegraph reports. More»

Fighting in Baghad kills 12, wounds 130

(NEWSER) - In a major new clash, Iraqi troops backed by American and British firepower today captured a stronghold of fighters loyal to Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr in Basra, said Iraqi officials. In a show of force, American planes and British artillery attacked a deserted area outside the Sadr-controlled section of Hayaniya before Iraqi troops moved into the neighborhood and seized the center, Reuters reports. More»

Says Iraq-weary Euros underestimate threat of unstable Afghanistan

(NEWSER) - US Defense Secretary Robert Gates appealed today to European allies to send more troops to Afghanistan, saying in Munich that the "threat posed by violent Islamic extremism is real" and that NATO's credibility in combating it is at stake, Reuters reports. France has indicated it could send more troops, but Germany has said it will not increase its commitment. More»

Shipment of roadside bombs intercepted at border fuels suspicions

(NEWSER) - NATO and the British military claim Iran is supplying Afghanistan's Taliban with the same equipment for explosive devices that it provides to Iraqi insurgents, the Telegraph writes. US Gen. Dan McNeill, the NATO commander in Afghanistan, said his forces discovered 50 roadside bombs and timers crossing the Iran-Afghanistan border in trucks last month; Iran denied the charges. More»