Tuesday, September 20, 2005

so heres the p.r going into overdrive? iraqi probe into soldier incident
Soldiers were forced to flee after their vehicles caught fire
The Iraqi government has launched an investigation into the events that led the British Army to storm a police station in search of two UK soldiers.
Both men were members of the SAS elite special forces, sources told the BBC's Richard Galpin in Baghdad.
The soldiers were arrested by police and then handed over to a militia group, the British Army says.
Iraq's interior ministry ordered the police force in Basra to release the soldiers but that order was ignored.
Instead they ended up in the hands of Shia militia, prompting the flattening of a wall at the police station and the later dramatic rescue, the Ministry of Defence said.
Basra governor Mohammed al-Waili said the men - possibly working undercover - were arrested for allegedly shooting dead a policeman and wounding another.

British Army vehicles under attack during bid to recover arrested servicemen
In pictures
Richard Galpin said al-Jazeera news channel footage, purportedly of the equipment carried in the men's car, showed assault rifles, a light machine gun, an anti-tank weapon, radio gear and medical kit.
This is thought to be standard kit for the SAS operating in such a theatre of operations, he said.
The arrests sparked angry protests from locals in which British vehicles were attacked and set on fire.
Haydar al-Abadi, a spokesman for Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari, said the British rescue had been "a very unfortunate development".
"My understanding is that, first, it happened very quickly. Second, there is lack of discipline in the whole area regarding this matter...
"It is a very unfortunate development that the British forces should try to release their soldiers the way it happened, it's very unfortunate."
We remain committed to helping the Iraqi government for as long as they judge that a coalition presence is necessary
Defence Secretary John Reid
Timeline: UK troops in Iraq
How events unfolded
Soon afterwards, the Iraqi prime minister's office released a statement insisting there was no crisis in relations with the British.
"In response to recent events in Basra, the Iraqi government wants to clarify that there is no 'crisis' - as some media have claimed - between it and the British government.
"Both governments are in close contact, and an inquiry will be conducted by the Iraqi Ministry of the Interior into the incident.
"We will await the outcome of that inquiry. In the meantime we urge all sides to remain calm."
Brigadier John Lorimer said it was of "deep concern" the men detained by police ended up held by Shia militia, something that put their lives in danger.
In a statement, Brig Lorimer said that under Iraqi law the soldiers should have been handed over to coalition authorities, but this failed to happen despite repeated requests.
HAVE YOUR SAY
Pulling out at this stage would be irresponsible
Richard, London, UK British vehicles attacked outside the police station had been attempting to maintain a cordon because it was obvious from a very early stage that the two British captives were in danger. Three British soldiers were injured in the melee, with a number of Iraqi casualties.
After troops broke into the police station to confirm the men were not there, they staged a rescue from a house in Basra, said the commanding officer of 12 Mechanised Brigade in Basra.
BBC Defence Correspondent Paul Wood said local police revealed the whereabouts of the two men after the station was stormed.
In a statement, Defence Secretary John Reid said the soldiers were being treated for minor injuries.
Mr Reid said: "We remain committed to helping the Iraqi government for as long as they judge that a coalition presence is necessary to provide security."
The Conservatives' defence spokesman Michael Ancram has accused the government of "uncertainty" over its strategy in Iraq, while the Lib Dem leader Charles Kennedy said Iraq was drifting towards civil war.
The BBC's Paul Wood said none of Basra's 20,000 police officers had helped the UK troops "partly because of reticence by their commanders, partly because, I am afraid, they have been infiltrated by these militants".

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