WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court wants to hear what the Obama administration thinks before deciding whether to hear an appeal from former detainees at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq over claims of abuse by defense contractors.

The justices today called on acting Solicitor General Neal Katyal, the administration's top Supreme Court lawyer, to offer his views on whether two firms, CACI International and Titan, can be sued over alleged abuses by interrogators they employed at the notorious Baghdad prison.

A divided federal appeals court in Washington dismissed the lawsuits filed by Iraqis who said they or their relatives were subjected to harsh interrogations.

The court imposed no deadline on the administration.

By The Associated Press