Lieutenant General Ricardo Sanchez

Washington, April 23 (Reuters): The army has exonerated Lieutenant General Ricardo Sanchez, the former top US commander in Iraq, of wrongdoing in the Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse scandal, but relieved another general of her command amid evidence of dereliction of duty, defence officials said yesterday.

An army investigation by a 10-member investigative team that last October began assessing any wrongdoing by top brass in Iraq found that Sanchez and three other senior officers had not committed dereliction of duty, the officials said. These four will not face criminal or administrative punishment.

But the investigation found that ?allegations of dereliction of duty were substantiated? in the case of Brigadier General Janis Karpinski, who had commanded the 800th Military Police Brigade at the heart of the Abu Ghraib abuse, said one official, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Karpinski will not face criminal charges but has received an official letter of reprimand from a senior army general and has been relieved of her command, the official said. Karpinski last year was suspended, but not officially removed, from her command and removed from active duty.

The results of the investigation were made public days before the one-year anniversary of the publication of the first photographs depicting US forces sexually humiliating and physically abusing Iraqi prisoners at the jail on the outskirts of Baghdad.

The scandal triggered international criticism of the US. Since then, numerous cases of detainee abuse have surfaced.

Iraq bombings

Insurgents attacked an Iraqi National Guard convoy and killed nine troops in one of at least five car bombings today in an upsurge of violence as Iraq?s political leaders bicker over a new government.

Two weeks of increased trouble have put pressure on Iraq?s new leaders to resolve their differences. The bomb struck a National Guard convoy at Abu Ghraib some 20 km west of Baghdad, and also wounded 20 guardsmen, police said.