A former U.S. general said graphic images of rape and torture are among the photos of Iraqi prisoner abuse that Barack Obama's administration does not want released.
Retired Major General Antonio Taguba, who oversaw the U.S. investigation into the abuses at Baghdad's Abu Ghraib prison,said he agreed with the President's decision not to release the pictures.
'I am not sure what purpose their release would serve other than a legal one and the consequence would be to imperil our troops, the only protectors of our foreign policy, when we most need them,' he said.
'The mere description of these pictures is horrendous enough, take my word for it.'
One of the horrifying images that an Australian TV network claimed was a detainee being abused in Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison in 2003
It was not exactly clear what photos Taguba was referring to.
A U.S. military official in Baghdad, however, said 'the photos referred to are ones that Taguba is not aware of.'
The Obama administration would not comment about Taguba's remarks.
Iraqis have called for an investigation into his claims.
'The Iraqi government must demand the reopening of the Abu Ghraib scandal case again,' Ali Kadom, 45, who works at the Ministry of Transportation, said.
Khalid Bashi, 35, a trade office owner in Baghdad, said Mr Obama should release the photos to put a stop to a possible scandal.
'Sooner or later, more scandals will appear that show crimes against humanity carried out by American troops in Iraq,' Mr Bashi added.
The prisoner abuse scandal at Abu Ghraib exploded after photos taken by soldiers appeared in 2004.
According to newspaper reports, the new photos depict much more serious abuses than previously documented.
One photo allegedly shows an American soldier raping a female prisoner and another was said to show a male translator raping a male detainee.
The photos apparently relate to 400 cases of alleged abuse between 2001 and 2005 at Abu Ghraib and six other prisons.
