US President Geroge W. Bush on Wednesday called the abuse of prisoners in Iraq as "abhorrent," saying it doesn't represent the America he knows.

In an interview with an Arab television in the White House, Bush said the incidents "will be investigated."

"People in Iraq need to understand that I view these practices as abhorrent," Bush told the al-Hurra satellite television network.

"There will be investigations, people will be brought to justice," Bush said of the alleged humiliation and abuse of prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison near Baghdad. "We want to know the .truth."

Al-Hurra was one of the Arab televisions Bush was set to speak to on Wednesday. He would also be interviewed by Al-Arabiya television.

The two interviews come as an international uproar has arisen since pictures of smirking US soldiers abusing and sexually humiliating Iraqi prisoners were broadcast on televisions in the United States and other countries.

US National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice did interviews Tuesday with three Arab televisions as the White House launched a damage-control campaign.

(Xinhua News Agency May 6, 2004)