BEIJING, May 12 (Xinhua)-- US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeldon Tuesday defended the Pentagon's handling of the abuse of Iraqi prisoners amid widespread condemnations around the world and mounting pressure on him to step down.

    The military "acted responsibly and told the world that there were charges (and) allegations of abuses," he said at a meeting atthe Pentagon, noting it was the military instead of the media thatreported the abuses.

    He denies the existence of a "culture of deception, of intimidation or of cover-up" in the Pentagon.     

    US GENERAL SAYS ABUSE NOT "ABOUT POLICIES AND PLANNING"

    The US Army general who first probed into the abuse of Iraqi prisoners by US soldiers denied on Tuesday that the abuse was "about policies and planning," as he did not find orders for soldiers to mistreat the detainees.

    At the Senate Armed Services Committee hearing, the second hearing in a week on the abuse scandal, Democrat Senator Robert Byrd said the abuse at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq was not just about guards and interrogators lacking in personal values, but "about policies and planning" from a higher level.

    "I did not find any evidence of a policy or a direct order given to these soldiers to conduct what they did," Major General Antonio Taguba replied.

    Taguba, who was appointed in January 2004 to investigate the allegations of detainee abuse at Abu Ghraib prison, said he believed the soldiers collaborated with several military intelligence interrogators at the lower level and abused the Iraqi prisoners "on their own volition."

    However, he admitted the abuse scandal reflected a failure of leadership in the US forces, saying "supervisory omission was rampant."

    Taguba's testimony came as a website said an American civilian named Nick Berg had been beheaded by the al-Qeada in Iraq in revenge for the "Satanic degradation" of Iraqi prisoners. Footage of the killing was provided on the website.     

    AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL ACCUSES BRITISH SOLDIERS OF KILLING IRAQICIVILIANS

    Amnesty International on Tuesday accused British soldiers in Iraq of killing civilians. The victims included a girl only aged eight.

    Amnesty said the British forces had been involved in the killings of at least 37 civilians since May 1, 2003, the official ending of the Iraqi war, in violation of international human rights standards.

    It also accused the British authorities of failing to fully investigate the suspected unlawful killings.

    "It has failed to conduct investigations into all killings of civilians, and the investigations that have been carried out have failed to ensure that justice was done, and seen to be done in theeyes of the victims' families."

    The London High Court on Tuesday ruled that relatives of 12 Iraqis allegedly killed by British troops would get a full court hearing against the government for their compensation claim. The families seek to have the deaths declared a breach of the European Convention on Human Rights and demand compensations from the British government for the deaths of their civilian relatives.

    British Defense Secretary Geoff Hoon said he did not accept suggestions that troops had not acted properly, Sky News television reported. However, he did not rule out "the possibility that in some of the cases that Amnesty have highlighted there may be further matters that requite further investigation and the possibility even of legal proceedings."     

    BRITISH PM TO FACE MORE QUESTIONS OVER ABUSE SCANDAL

    As Amnesty's accusations add pressure and trouble to Washington's closest ally Britain, Prime Minister Tony Blair is scheduled tomake his weekly parliamentary appearance, facing questions over accusations that one of his ministers misled the parliament about the abuse issue.

    Amnesty had earlier said it alerted Armed Forces Minister Adam Ingram to its concern over the civilian killings in a letter late last year and Ingram had signed the receipt.

    But in parliament last week, the minister said he had not received any report on the issue.

    Blair and his ministers are under fire after the International Committee of the Red Cross said it had handed over in February a report on the mistreatment of Iraqi prisoners by US and British soldiers. They all said earlier that they had not seen the report until the last few days.

    But the contradictory statements came among themselves. Hoon said former envoy to Iraq Sir Jeremy Greenstock had been given thereport, but Foreign Secretary Jack Straw later in the parliament said it had in fact gone only to his subordinates who had passed it on to officials in London.

    Britain's most respected Muslim group, the Muslim Council of Britain, on Tuesday called for the withdrawal of British forces from Iraq, saying the Iraqi war harmed Britain's reputation and interests. It also urged the government to try those who had abused Iraqi prisoners.     

    UN, GERMANY, INDIA URGE THOROUGH INVESTIGATION

    The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) is profoundly disturbed by news reports alleging that children might have been among those abused in detention centers and prisons in Iraq, a statement said Tuesday.

    "Although the news reports have not been independently substantiated, they are alarming nonetheless," it said, adding that any mistreatment, sexual abuse, exploitation or torture of children in detention is a violation of the international law.

    German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer, who met US Secretary of State Colin Powell in Washington on Tuesday, urged the United States to bring those who are responsible for the abuse of Iraqi prisoners to justice.

    "We are really shocked and deeply appalled about the news we heard, the humiliation and abuse of Iraqi prisoners. And we think that those who are responsible must be brought to justice," Fischer said.

    Fischer said Germany is looking forward that the ongoing investigations and inquiries will lead to a restoration of "the moral leadership of the United States."

    Indian Defense Minister George Fernandes on Tuesday expressed disgust at the reprehensible treatment meted out to people picked up for interrogation in Iraq.

    He urged the world community to insist on the implementation of international law governing the treatment of prisoners of war, beginning from Saddam Hussein right down to the ordinary man and woman on the streets of Iraq, the Press Trust of India quoted the minister as saying. Enditem