The Pentagon is denying allegations that U.S. military members were involved in or witnessed torture of jailed terror suspects in Yemen, VOA news reports.
The Pentagon made its denial in a new report to Congress. The Associated Press has seen an unclassified version of the report.
“Based on information gathered at this time, (we) have determined that DOD personnel have neither observed nor been complicit in any cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment of detainees in Yemen,” the report says, according to the AP.
It also says U.S. officials have not “developed any independent, credible information” that U.S. allies in Yemen have tortured suspects.
The AP and human rights groups have alleged that Yemenis have been mistreated and sexually abused in prisons run by the United Arab Emirates and allied militias in Yemen, and that U.S. forces may have witnessed some of it.
The UAE is part of the Saudi-led coalition fighting the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels.
The United States has been supporting the coalition through arms sales to Saudi Arabia and by providing intelligence.
The Pentagon report says U.S. military personnel are “trained in the law of armed conflict and humane treatment standards and trained on how to look for and report on any detainee abuse.”
A Pentagon spokeswoman said Tuesday that U.S. officials will continue to investigate reports of prisoner abuse.