From BBC News
By Paul Reynolds

Abu Ghraib has come back to haunt the US government.

The latest pictures from the prison are another disaster for the image of the US presence in Iraq(formally an occupation at the time the photos were probably taken, in 2003).

They could hardly have come out at a worse time, amid the furore over the Danish cartoons and immediately after the emergence of a video showing British troops beating up Iraqi protesters.

The US government is taking refuge in declaring that these are images from some time ago, refer to isolated incidents which have been investigated and which are no longer taking place.

The pictures appear genuine in that some are very similar to the ones upon which convictions have already taken place. Some, though, are even worse and show several dead bodies, one with its heart removed, perhaps after a post-mortem.

Read More Abu Ghraib