UN urges public inquiry into abuse by British troops in Iraq

LONDON – A U.N. committee is calling for an independent public inquiry to investigate allegations of unlawful killings and torture by British troops in Iraq.

The findings deal with the period after the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.

The U.N.'s Committee Against Torture said in its report Friday that Britain should refrain from passing laws that would grant amnesty or pardons related to torture. It says there have been no war crimes prosecutions resulting from the investigations by Britain's Iraq Historic Allegations Team despite some 3,400 allegations of crimes by British forces from the 2003 invasion of Iraq until 2009.

It also says that reported abuses by British troops operating in Northern Ireland during the decades of violence known as The Troubles have not been properly investigated.