U.S. President Barack Obama admitted on Friday that the CIA used torture tactics on terrorists following the 9/11 Twin Towers terror attacks.

"We did a whole lot of things that were right, but we tortured some folks," Obama said during a White House press conference. "We did some things that were contrary to our values."

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The president said that at a time when U.S. leadership desired that the same Al Qaeda terror attacks will not be repeated it resorted to unacceptable means of getting security information. He said torture was used because the U.S. feared that more terrorism will happen on American soil.

"The U.S. has crossed a line," Obama said.

However, the president urged American citizens not to be sanctimonious about the actions done by the CIA and its agents. Obama said they were only doing their job to guarantee the country's safety. He called them "real patriots."

Torture as a means of interrogation rose during former President George W. Bush administration right after the Twin Tower terror attacks in New York City on Sept. 9, 2011. Then President Bush authorized the use of harsh interrogation methods on detained militants suspected of terrorism.

When Obama became president in 2009, he banned the CIA's "enhanced interrogation techniques."

One of the torture methods employed include "waterboarding" in which a subject was strapped to a board that slopes downward to the head. Water is then poured over the subject's face to mimic the sense of drowning.

"Whatever legal rationales were used, it was a mistake," Obama said during the press conference.

A Senate committee report will be released detailing the rendition, detention and interrogation techniques of the CIA during the Bush administration.

The report, which took five years in the making, is expected to be released a week after Obama's statement.

TagsObama, Barack Obama, CIA