[JURIST] The US military announced Monday that five members of the 75th Ranger Regiment [official website] have been charged with physically assaulting prisoners in Iraq [press release] in violation of the Uniform Code of Military Justice [text]. The five elite soldiers, whose names were not released, were charged in connection with an incident in September 2005 "in which three detainees were allegedly punched and kicked while awaiting movement to a detention facility," according to the US military statement. The announcement comes the same day that President Bush adamantly defended US interrogation techniques [JURIST report] in the war on terror and sought to limit a congressional measure to ban torture. AP has more.