WASHINGTON - Three detainee deaths and several detainee disappearances were blacked out in the CIA inspector-generals report on abuses during interrogation of terror suspects, an ex-official who read the full report says. ABC News reported the unnamed former senior intelligence official as saying the public version of the report did not contain the inspector generals findings on the three deaths, two of which reportedly occurred in Iraq and the third in Afghanistan. Findings on a fourth death were included in the report, the US television network said. A CIA contractor was convicted of assault in that case and is serving a prison term. Findings on several detainee disappearances were also blacked out, the official told ABC. Of the 109 pages in the report, 39 were redacted, or blacked out, for security reasons. The 2004 inspector-generals report, which covered CIA interrogations only from Sept 11, 2001, to 2003, was made public under court order in a Freedom of Information Act suit. US Attorney-General Eric Holder, after Mondays release of the edited report, expanded the mandate of a special counsel to include a preliminary review of some interrogations. Under US Justice Department guidelines, which mirror the lapse independent counsel statute, a preliminary inquiry is necessary before a full-scale investigation is conducted. Meanwhile, leading congressional Republicans said Tuesday a special counsels preliminary review of CIA abuses while interrogating terror suspects will hurt the national interest. The Republican lawmakers denounced Mondays decision by US Attorney-General Eric Holder to expand the mandate of special counsel John Durham by ordering him to conduct a preliminary review of whether there should be a full-scale investigation of alleged torture under the Bush administration, The Washington Post reported. But some Democrats worry the investigation may not go far enough. We are witnessing the beginning of a witch hunt that will decimate both the morale and effectiveness of those who have dedicated their lives to protecting our nation, the head of a House conservative caucus, the Post quoted Congressman Tom Price as saying in a statement. Eight senior Senate Republicans wrote a letter of protest to the attorney general, saying they fear the true cost of this endeavour will ultimately be borne by the American people, who rely on the intelligence community, operating without distraction, to protect them from the many threats, known and unknown, that our country faces in this post-9/11 world. Signers included Senators Jon Kyl of Arizona, the No. 2 Republican leader; Christopher Kit Bond of Missouri, the ranking Republican on the Intelligence Committee; and Jeff Sessions of Alabama, the ranking Republican on the Judiciary Committee. The Post said Democrats, for the most part, approved the preliminary inquiry, but Sen Patrick Leahy of Vermont, Chairman of the Judiciary Committee, called again for an independent review of all Bush-era policies in the war on terror.