A US soldier who abused fellow troops in Iraq and then lied about it was on Saturday sentenced to six months in jail, fined almost 6,000 dollars and demoted, the American military said.

Sergeant Jarrett Taylor was one of four US soldiers, all members of B Troop, 2nd Squadron, 13th Cavalry Regiment, based out of Fort Bliss, Texas, who were charged with a range of offences on August 19.

Taylor, 23, was convicted at a court martial in Kuwait of cruelty and maltreatment and of making a false official statement, the military said.

"He was sentenced to confinement for 180 days, reduction to the rank of Private E-1 (the lowest rank in the army), and forfeiture of 933 dollars in pay for six months," an army statement said.

Taylor, from Edmond, Oklahoma, faced four charges: two of cruelty and maltreatment, one charge of making false official statements, and another of reckless endangerment, according to the indictment issued in August.

The maximum penalty for those charges was eight years' imprisonment. Taylor could also have been dishonourably discharged from the army and forced to forfeit all pay and allowances.

Of the three other soldiers charged alongside Taylor in August, Specialist Daniel Weber, 24, from Frankenmuth, Michigan, whose offences were unspecified, was discharged in lieu of court martial, the statement said.

Staff Sergeant Bob Clements and Staff Sergeant Enoch Chatman are still awaiting trial, the military added.

Clements, 29, faces nine charges, including four counts of cruelty and maltreatment, three counts of making false official statements, one charge of reckless endangerment and one charge of impeding an investigation.

He faces a maximum penalty of 25 years in a military jail.

Chatman, 30, faces a total of six charges, comprising four counts of cruelty and maltreatment, one charge of making false official statements and another of reckless endangerment.

The maximum penalty for such charges is 10 years in military jail.