[JURIST] Iraqi special forces and coalition troops Sunday uncovered an Iraqi intelligence facility in Basra in southern Iraq apparently used to torture prisoners and produce bomb-making equipment. The government building, local headquarters of the Iraqi interior ministry's domestic intelligence agency, also housed 37 inmates. The troops arrested five suspects on suspicion of "serious terrorist activity, including involvement with roadside bombs and attacks against both civilians and multinational forces," according to the British military.

Both Iraqi intelligence and police forces have been accused of torture before, with a number of reports [JURIST reports] coming directly from Western military sources. Corruption has been especially rampant in Southern Iraq where many of the local forces have been infiltrated by radical Shiite [Wikipedia backgrounder] factions. AFP has more.