WASHINGTON, Aug 25 (AFP) - A US army report Wednesday said 27 military intelligence specialists were involved in the abuse of Iraqi inmates at Abu Ghraib prison, but said most of the incidents were not linked to interrogations.
"There is no single, simple explanation for why this abuse at Abu Ghraib happened," the report said.
"The primary causes are misconduct -- ranging from inhumane to sadistic -- by a small group of morally corrupt soldiers and civilians, a lack of discipline on the part of the leaders and soldiers of the 205th (military intelligence brigade) and a failure or lack of leadership" among US troops in Iraq.
"Most, though not all, of the violent and sexual abuses occured separately from scheduled interrogations and did not focus on persons held for intelligence purposes."
That was the case in the now-notorious photographs that sparked the scandal in April, showing Iraqi inmates leashes, held naked, piled in a human pyramid, or hooded and attached to electrodes. None of those prisoners were being held for interrogation, an army official said.
The report contradicted the testimony of some of the seven soldiers charged so far in the Abu Ghraib scandal, who said that military intelligence officers had ordered them to "soften up" detainees before interrogations.
The report also highlightd the previously little-known role of the 205th brigade, as it implicated 27 of its agents -- including four civilian contractors.
Three other military police officers were cited as participating in the abuses, as well as another who did not intervene to stop them as well as two medical staff.
They could face criminal or administrative penalities.
Abuse of Iraqi inmates at Abu Ghraib prison sometimes amounted to torture, said the general who wrote the report.
"There are a few instances where torture was being used," General George Fay told reporters.
The report cited 44 cases of abuse between July 2003 and February 2004, including one that led to the death of a prisoner.
It also found that US forces hid eight "ghost" detainees from the International Committee of the Red Cross, a clear violation of the Geneva Conventions.
Pentagon officials released Fay's report to key lawmakers in the US Congress.
The release of the investigation's findings came just one day after another independent probe concluded that leadership failures at the top levels of the Pentagon contributed to the chaotic environment in which detainees were abused.
The blue-ribbon panel headed by former defense secretary James Schlesinger on Tuesday cited leadership shortcomings among the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the military command in Iraq that contributed to the abuse at Abu Ghraib.
General Paul Kern, who presented the Fay report, said 23 members of the armed services and four civilian working under contract were involved.
Colonel Thomas Pappas, commander of the 205th military intelligence brigade, was the highest-level officer whose case was recommended for disciplinary action.
Kern, who presented the report, said, "We found no one above that grade culpable of abuse."
Kern said that he regretted the abuses and that besides those who were responsible for the abuses, others knew about them and did nothing.
He said that the report listed some 9,000 documents and interviews with 170 persons during eight visits to Iraq.
The report focused on the responsibilities of military intelligence and military police, many of whom appear in the photographs that launched the scandal.
A senior army official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said most of the cases in the now-famous photos were not related to intelligence interrogations.