US President Barack Obama says he is concerned about retaliation against the US interests overseas following the release of the CIA torture report by the Senate.
During an interview with Telemundo, the US president said on Tuesday that he was worried about potential ramifications overseas and his administration has taken precautionary steps to deal with the risk.
The remarks came after the Senate Intelligence Committee released a report detailing torture techniques used by the Central Intelligence Agency during the term of George W. Bush.
Based on the report, the CIA employed brutal techniques like waterboarding, physical abuse and threats of sexual abuse to interrogate the so-called terror suspects after the September 11, 2001 attacks.
Obama said the timing of the release of the report was not perfect, adding that but it was important to do so.
The president admitted that the harsh interrogation tactics were brutal" and "constituted torture."
Senior officials said they have been working on preparation for the release of the report for months, a process that involved measures such as checking the security of US diplomatic missions overseas and stepping up security at home.
The report also claims the CIA had been providing the Bush administration with misleading information regarding its interrogation methods and their efficacy.