Images that shame US

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Part of the photos of prisoner abuses at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison

    WASHINGTON, Feb. 15 (Xinhuanet) -- The U.S. military has authenticated photos made public Wednesday showing prisoner abuses at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison.

    The pictures, disclosed for the first time, matched those gathered by the U.S. military two years ago in its investigation into the Abu Ghraib prison scandal, a defense official said.

    The pictures, released by Australian media, had been investigated previously and contained no new information, the official said.

    Of the 15 pictures, 14 were authentic and only one could not be authenticated because there were no people in it, he added.

    Meanwhile, Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said on Wednesday that the release of additional photos of prisoner abuse was harmful.

    The Defense Department "believes that the further release of images could only further inflame and possibly incite unnecessary violence in the world and would endanger our military men and women that are serving in places around the world," he said.

    The U.S. military has conducted a number of investigations since prisoner abuses were uncovered in January 2004. The abuse scandal, revealed to the public in April that year, sparked widespread protest and worldwide condemnation. Enditem