[JURIST] The US military discovered several "torture chambers" northeast of Baghdad in May and June, Maj. Gen. Thomas R. Turner II [official profile], the senior commander of US and Iraqi forces in northern Iraq, said Friday. Turner told Pentagon reporters via teleconference [transcript] about the discovery of the "torture chambers," which consisted of two or three small rooms and allegedly contained evidence of torture [JURIST news archive], including shackles. Turner said the "torture chambers" provided further evidence of increasing sectarian violence in Iraq [Wikipedia backgrounder]. AP has more.

In May, the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) [official website] warned [JURIST report] that human rights progress in Iraq was being seriously undermined by ongoing sectarian violence involving Shiite and Sunni factions.