The U.S. military in Iraq has expressed regret over its recent detention of South Korean journalists.

Seoul's Ambassador to Iraq, Im Hong-jae, filed a strong complaint with top U.S. military officials on Monday regarding Saturday's brief detention of the three journalists by American troops.

A Foreign Ministry official said that Ambassador Im met Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, the commander of U.S. forces in Iraq, and Maj. Gen. Jon A. Gallinetti, chief of staff for Combined Joint Task Force 7.

Gallinetti reportedly expressed regret about the "inconvenience" suffered by the journalists and promised to look into whether U.S. troops abided by standard operational procedures during the detention and release of the reporters.

The journalists from KBS, South Korea's largest public broadcasting network, were detained for about three hours on Saturday afternoon after their baggage alerted a bomb-sniffing dog at a security checkpoint in front of their hotel.

The reporters claimed they received unfair treatment, accusing U.S. soldiers of not releasing them even after no explosives had been found in their baggage.