The US attorney-general has launched an investigation into allegations that terror suspects were abused by their CIA interrogators.

A special prosecutor has been appointed to look into the harsh interrogation practices.

The announcement by attorney-general Eric Holder came on the day a that report by the CIA Inspector General detailed some of the "torture" techniques that were used.

They include mock executions and use of a power drill to intimidate alleged al Qaeda operatives into giving up information. Agents also threatened to kill a key terror suspect's children and sexually assault another's mother as part of their interrogation.

The report -made public for the first time yesterday - concluded that the CIA had used "unauthorised, improvised, inhumane" practices in questioning "high value" terror suspects.

Mr Holder used the 2004 report as a reason to appoint prosecutor John Durham to lead the inquiry that could see CIA agents and civilian contractors prosecuted.

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said: "The president has said repeatedly that he wants to look forward, not back, and he agrees with the attorney-general that those who acted in good faith and within the scope of legal guidance should not be prosecuted. Ultimately, determinations about whether someone broke the law are made independently by the attorney-general."

All the alleged abuses took place while George W Bush was president, and interrogations intensified after 9/11.

CIA Director Leon Panetta defended his agents, saying they had "obtained intelligence from high-value detainees when inside information on al Qaeda was in short supply".

While none of the alleged abuses took place while Mr Obama was in the White House, there is fear among his aides that America's image will once again be tarnished by revelations of the use of torture.

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