Australian Defense Minister Joel Fitzgibbon confirmed that four suspected insurgents who were arrested by special forces soldiers on April 29 were held for 24 hours in a compound occasionally used to house dogs.

Dogs are considered impure by observant Muslims and the soldiers' actions prompted strong criticism from the head of Australia's main Islamic group, the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils.

"It is quite appalling that the Australian soldiers are in any way caught up in the inhumane treatment of human beings irrespective of who they are," said federation president Ikebal Patel. "I think it's quite despicable that something like that could happen and that the Australians are party to it."

The revelation follows complaints by an Afghan soldier about mistreatment of the detainees, who were held in southern Uruzgan province following a battle with Taliban fighters. An Australian Defence Force inquiry last week found that medical evidence and witness statements did not support allegations of abuse.