Jihadists Captured in Mali Claim They Were Tortured By Malian Forces

Say they were subjected to a procedure similar to waterboarding

TIMBUKTU, Mali — Three suspected jihadists arrested in the days since they liberated the town of Timbuktu said Friday that Malian soldiers were torturing them with a method similar to waterboarding.

The three are being held in an earthen cell in what remains of the military camp in Timbuktu, which was liberated earlier this week by French and Malian soldiers after nearly 10 months under the rule of radical Islamists.

The men, who were tied together with a turban and one handcuff, all acknowledged to The Associated Press having been members of the al-Qaida-linked group known as Ansar Dine, or Defenders of the Faith.