KABUL, Afghanistan - The U.S. military has opened an investigation into allegations that an Afghan police officer was stripped naked, beaten and photographed at a U.S. base in Afghanistan, the American Embassy in Kabul said today.

The alleged abuse occurred in August 2003 at the American base in the eastern town of Gardez, 60 miles south of the capital, Kabul, an embassy statement said. U.S. officials had learned of the allegations from the media, it said.

The New York Times quoted the former police colonel, Sayed Nabi Siddiqui, 47, as saying he was subjected to sexual abuse, taunting and sleep deprivation.

On Tuesday, the top U.S. general in Afghanistan said the military had made "very significant changes" to the way it handles prisoners in Afghanistan after alleged abuse, including the deaths of three prisoners.

The New York Times quoted Siddiqui as saying he was wrongly detained on July 15 after he reported police corruption and that someone then accused him of being a member of the Taliban.

Siddiqui told the Times that for the 12 days he was in Kandahar, detainees were packed into wire cages and forced to use a bucket as a toilet in front of other detainees.