The Reuters news agency has filed a formal complaint with the Pentagon over the “wrongful” arrest and apparent “brutalization” of three of its staff this month by US troops in Iraq. This according to a report in the Guardian of London. The three Reuters staff members–all of whom were Iraqi–were shot at and then detained for 72 hours after they attempted to cover the story of a downed U.S. helicopter. The U.S. reportedly placed bags over the heads of the detainees and threatened to send them to Guantanamo Bay. In one instance a U.S. soldier shoved a shoe into the mouth of one of the Iraqis. One source told the Guardian, “They were brutalised, terrified and humiliated for three days. It was pretty grim stuff. There was mental and physical abuse.” The source added: “It makes you wonder what happens to ordinary Iraqis.” The U.S. claims they detained the men after the soldiers came under fire from gunmen wearing jackets that read PRESS. The Guardian reported a spokeswoman for the US military’s coalition press and information centre in Baghdad hung up when a reporter asked her to comment.