LONDON (AP) -- The British military is admitting that some of its troops violated the human rights of nine Iraqi detainees, one of whom died in custody.

The Ministry of Defense says it expects to negotiate compensation for the survivors of the dead man (Baha Mousa) and with the eight former detainees.

Prosecutors told a British military court that the nine were taken into custody as suspected insurgents near the southern city of Basra in September 2003. With temperatures extremely hot, the prisoners were held in stress positions and deprived of sleep for about two days at a British army barracks.

In a statement apologizing for the abuses, Armed Forces Minister Bob Ainsworth condemned the abuses but says it involved "a very small minority" of the 120,000 British soldiers who have served in Iraq.