Iraq's Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, 4 March 2007

Iraq's Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has ordered an investigation into a joint Iraqi-British raid on a national intelligence agency, which uncovered prisoners who apparently had been tortured.

Mr. Maliki has called the raid in the southern, Shi'ite-dominated city of Basra illegal and irresponsible. He did not mention the prisoners.

British officials said Iraqi forces, supported by coalition troops, raided the office on Sunday looking for what they called terrorists. But the troops found more than 30 prisoners, including a woman and two children, some of whom showed signs of torture.

In November 2005, U.S. troops raided an Iraqi jail in Baghdad run by Iraq's interior ministry, which is dominated by Shi'ites. Sunni prisoners found at the sites showed signs of torture.

Smoke billows from the site of a car bomb attack engulfing Bab al-Moazam Mosque in Baghdad 05 Mar 2007

In other news, Iraqi police say a car bomb killed at least 26 people Monday in a book sellers' market in Baghdad.

Iraqi and U.S. forces are in the third week of a security crackdown in Baghdad aimed at stemming sectarian violence.

The U.S. military said coalition forces arrested 36 suspected terrorists in raids on Sunni areas of Iraq today. It says the raids targeted foreign fighters and al-Qaida militants.

Meanwhile, the U.S. military said that a U.S. soldier was killed by a roadside bomb in the northern town of Tikrit on Sunday.