BAGHDAD – Six sailors working as prison camp guards in Iraq face courts martial for abusing detainees, some of whom were sealed in a cell with riot control gas, the U.S. Navy said on Thursday

Seven other sailors were given non-judicial punishments over the incident, which took place at Camp Bucca, the vast desert camp in southern Iraq where the U.S. military houses 18,000 of its 21,000 prisoners.

'Two detainees suffered minor abrasions as a result of the alleged assaults, eight others were confined overnight in a detainee housing unit which was sprayed with riot control agent and then the ventilation secured,' the Navy said.

The courts martial will begin at Camp Bucca within the next 30 days, the statement said.

(Editing by Angus MacSwan)