Ex-commander of US prison in Iraq detained-military

BAGHDAD, Apr 26 (Reuters) The former commander of a major US military detention centre in Baghdad has been detained and is under investigation for ''aiding the enemy'', a US military spokeswoman said today.

Lieutenant-Colonel William Steele is also being investigated for having an improper relationship with a translator and another Iraqi woman, US military spokeswoman Lieutenant-Colonel Josslyn Aberle told Reuters.

Aberle said Steele, who was taken into custody last month, was being held at a detention facility in neighbouring Kuwait awaiting an Article 32 hearing to determine whether he should face court-martial.

Steele was commander of Camp Cropper, a detention facility near Baghdad international airport that holds some 3,500 detainees, including former members of Saddam Hussein's regime.

The former Iraqi president, who was executed in December, also spent time there during his three-year incarceration.

REUTERS JS VV1628