"These soldiers have taken nearly 300 detainees in our area since they arrived in early May," Haviland said.
The brigade is both loved and feared in Iraq for its attacks on alleged insurgent hide-outs and the dramatic televised confessions those offensives produced.
But Sunni human rights advocates charged that the brigade elicited the confessions by beating their captives. A woman interviewed by The Times this year said brigade officers whipped her sister with telephone wires to force her to confess to terrorist acts and to accuse her male associates of raping her and of having homosexual relations.
The detainee, Khalida Mashhandani, was later released after it was determined that her confessions had been coerced.
Despite its controversial reputation, the Wolf Brigade is regarded by U.S. military officials as the gold standard for Iraqi security forces.
The unit operates out of dilapidated barracks on the outskirts of Baghdad and storms through the streets in convoys of white pickup trucks loaded with uniformed officers raising AK-47s.
During an April interview in his office, Walid, a gregarious man with a thick black mustache, acknowledged that his officers "sometimes get carried away in their duties."
One member of Alpha Company who has not been accused of participating in the abuse said that the alleged misconduct should not be blamed on a relationship with the Iraqi Wolf Brigade. "These are grown men.... Some of them are seasoned vets who have been in active duty. It's inexcusable. You know what's right and what is wrong."
The source sought to lay most of the blame on the unit's leadership. "We have a lot of good men. We do. But when you have leadership issues, the rotten apples take control."
The battalion has been plagued with morale problems since last year, when soldiers complained of inadequate preparation, supplies and tactical equipment. They also said they had not been properly trained to guard against insurgents' roadside bombs. A National Guard investigation concluded they were battle-ready.
Times staff writers Christine Hanley and H.G. Reza contributed to this report.
