BAGHDAD, Sept. 19 (Xinhuanet) -- Iraqi police detained two British soldiers in civilian clothes in the southern city Basra for firing on
a police station on Monday, police said.
"Two persons wearing Arab uniforms opened fire at a police station in Basra. A police patrol followed the attackers and captured
them to discover they were two British soldiers," an Interior Ministry source told Xinhua.
The two soldiers were using a civilian car packed with explosives, the source said.
He added that the two were being interrogated in the police headquarters of Basra.
The British forces informed the Iraqi authorities that the two soldiers were performing an official duty, the source said. British military authorities said they could not confirm the incident but investigations were underway. Enditem
Basra Bizarre:
SOS Commandos Arrested and Sprung
C. L. Cook
PEJ News
September 19, 2005
Two British commandos, members of the secretive SAS were arrested by Iraqi police yesterday in the southern Iraqi city of Basra.The two men, dressed in Arab garb and driving an unmarked car, drew the attention of police. As the car was approached, shots were fired. Conflicting reports make the timeline of the exchange of fire unclear, and there are also discrepancies concerning caualties, some saying one policeman was wounded and/or killed, others claiming two police dead, while still others claim none were killed. But what is clear: the two soldiers were taken into custody and questioned by an Iraqi judge.
Some hours after the incident, British reinforcements arrived at the jail, demanding the release of their colleagues. When refused, the British knocked down at least one wall of the jail. Reports with either a tank, several tanks, or armoured personnel carrier: again accounts are diverse. Everyone does agree; there was helicopter support for the rescue operation, and at least one tank was later set afire by angry mobs, hurling stones and petrol bombs.
Fattah al-Shaykh, a member of the Iraqi National Assembly, told Al-Jazeera TV on September 19 that the soldiers opened fire when the police sought to arrest them, and that their car was booby-trapped "and was meant to explode in the centre of the city of Basra in the popular market" (quoted by Chossudovsky). A deliberately inflammatory press release sent out on the same day by the office of Moqtada al-Sadr (and posted in English translation at Juan Cole’s Informed Comment blog on September 20) states that the soldiers’ arrest was prompted by their having "opened fire on passers-by" near a Basra mosque, and that they were found to have "in their possession explosives and remote-control devices, as well as light and medium weapons and other accessories"
Crowds had apparently been drawn to the jail by flying squads of rabble-rousers, blaring news of a killed policeman and the arrest of the British over car-mounted loudspeakers.
Word of the shooting spread through the city, already edgy because of the heightened bombing campaigns against religious sites and observances. (This week marks the beginning of the Karbala Festival, marking the birth of Imam Mohammed al-Mahdi in 868 A.D. on the Christian calendar. It's expected to draw as many as 3 million pilgrims, providing ample opportunities for car and suicide bombings.) These attacks have been cited by Iranian officials as a deliberate ploy by the Americans and their allies, ostensibly to justify the continuation of the occupation. It's a sentiment broadly shared in Iraq.
Curiously, B.B.C. World Radio reports initially identified the car the SAS drove as being: "full of explosives and bomb making equipment." It's a quote I'm unable at this hour (S19) to corroborate. In fact, none among the several articles relating to this strange tale broach the questions: Why did the shooting start? Why were the men there? What was in the car?
Media emphasis is now quickly shifting to the block-buster rescue mission. An estimated 150 others held in the prison took the opportunity to escape custody. But, that too is a point made moot by counter-claims stating none escaped.
One thing is certain tonight: The relatively quiet British-Iraqi relationship in the south is fast deteriorating.
Also today, 38 year-old reporter Fakher Haider was found dead in Basra. His body showed signs of severe trauma. He was shot to death. Haider becomes the 55th journalist killed in Iraq since the fall of the Hussein regime.
TWO undercover soldiers seized by Iraqi forces were freed last night when British tanks breached their prison walls, according to reports.
A senior military source told The Herald that negotiations had been under way to have the pair turned over to the Royal Military Police when the local British commander decided not to leave the soldiers in the hands of Iraqi authorities any longer, amid fears for their safety.
Mohammed al Waili, the governor of the province, said the British jail raid was "barbaric, savage and irresponsible". He said: "A British force of more than 10 tanks backed by helicopters attacked the central jail and destroyed it. This is an irresponsible act."
"An operation of this kind must have gone to the highest level. I would be surprised if the prime minister had not been consulted."
The MoD would not comment on rumours the two men were working on an intelligence mission and had been dressed in Arab clothing.. The official said: "They were driving a civilian car and were dressed in civilian clothes when a shooting took place between them and Iraqi patrols."
He would not name the soldiers. No Scottish regiments are currently in Basra, but there are Scottish soldiers attached to other units in the area.
It is alleged that the men have been working undercover to investigate Basra police links to the Mahdi Army militia which dominates much of southern Iraq and now controls the city's civilian security apparatus. Sources say the British soldiers, possibly members of the new Special Reconnaissance Regiment formed earlier this month to provide intelligence for SAS operations, were looking at infiltration of the city's police by the followers of the outspoken Shi'ite cleric, Moqtada al Sadr.
Mahdi Army members have enlisted in large numbers in the police.
British troops had arrested Sheikh Ahmed Majid Farttusi and Sayyid Sajjad, two prominent members of Sadr's militia, on Sunday. Brigadier John Lorimer, commander of the British 12th Mechanised Brigade based in Basra, said they had been "arrested as individuals and not as members of any organisation".
The diplomatic crisis coincided with harsh criticism from Bill Clinton over the way his successor, George W Bush, has handled the war. The former US president said the Bush administration had launched the invasion "virtually alone and before the UN inspections were completed".
TWO undercover
soldiers seized by Iraqi forces were freed last night when British tanks
breached their prison walls, according to reports.
About 10
Warrior armoured vehicles were said to have been involved in the operation,
before troops stormed in to release the special forces servicemen.
A senior military source told The Herald that
negotiations had been under way to have the pair turned over to the Royal
Military Police when the local British commander decided not to leave the
soldiers in the hands of Iraqi authorities any longer, amid fears for their
safety
Basra breakout: army statement
Full statement by Brigadier John Lorimer, the Brigade Commander of the 12 Mechanised Brigade
"I want to speak to you about yesterday’s events in Basra.
"During the morning, two British soldiers were detained at the Jamiat police station in Basra. Under Iraqi law, as MNF (Multinational Force) soldiers, they should have been handed over to the coalition authorities. The Consul-General and I asked repeatedly for this but it did not happen.
"During the day we went to exhaustive lengths to achieve the hand-over of the soldiers. And in fact, as a result, we understand that the Iraqi Interior Minister personally ordered the release of the soldiers. However, that order seems to have been ignored.
"From an early stage, I had good reason to believe that the lives of the two soldiers were at risk and troops were sent to the area of Basra near the police station to help ensure their safety by providing a cordon. As shown on television, these troops were attacked with fire-bombs and rockets by a violent and determined crowd.
"Later in the day, however, I became more concerned about the safety of the two soldiers after we received information that they had been handed over to militia elements. As a result I took the difficult decision to order entry to the Jamiat police station. By taking this action we were able to confirm that the soldiers were no longer being held by the IPS. An operation was then mounted to rescue them from a house in Basra.
"I am delighted that the two British soldiers are back with British Forces and are in good health. We will be following up with the authorities in Basra why the soldiers were not immediately handed over to MNF as Iraqi law (CPA Order 17) says that they should have been.
"I should put the scale of yesterday’s disorder into context. British armoured vehicles being attacked by a violent crowd, including with petrol bombs, makes graphic television viewing.
"But this was a small unrepresentative crowd (200-300) in a city of 1.5 million. The vast majority of Iraqi people in MND(SE) are law abiding and value the contribution made by coalition forces to maintaining stability and security.
"Minor damage was caused to the prison compound wall and to the house in which our two soldiers were held.
"It is of deep concern that British soldiers held by the police should end up being held by militia. This is unacceptable and I should stress that we won’t hesitate to take action against those who are involved in planning and conducting attacks against coalition forces.
"Looking ahead, I should stress that the situation in Basra is now calm.
"We will continue to work closely with local authorities to maintain this calm, and with the Iraqi security forces whose capabilities we are helping to develop. It was a difficult day yesterday, but we have put this behind us and will move on."
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Basra warrant for two UK soldiers
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A Basra judge has issued an arrest warrant for two British soldiers after an Iraqi civilian was reportedly killed and a police officer injured. The two servicemen - believed to be undercover SAS officers - were detained after a confrontation on Monday. UK troops later freed the soldiers from Iraqi custody after storming a police station in the southern Iraqi city. Defence Secretary John Reid said no warrant had been received - and British personnel were immune from Iraqi laws. "The MoD has not received any arrest warrant relating to any British personnel in Iraq," he said. "Iraqi law is very clear: British forces remain subject to British jurisdiction.
"Even if such a warrant was issued, it would therefore be of no legal effect." British forces spokesman Major Steve Melbourne said the two men had immunity from prosecution under an arrangement between the Iraqi government and coalition forces. But he said the UK would "work closely" with the Iraqi investigation team, and with the Iraqi government. "This has started and we'll see what comes from that into the events of Monday night."
However, the judge said he was not convinced the two men were British and therefore would not be immune from arrest and possible prosecution in Iraq. "We keep hearing that the arrest warrants are illegal. Well, until this moment we don't have any evidence that they are soldiers. "According to the documents we have they are just foreigners," the judge said. "We have asked for an official letter to tell us whether they were soldiers or civilians but we haven't received such a letter yet. "Therefore the two men are still suspects and Iraqi law applies to them." BBC correspondent Richard Galpin said that if the men were found guilty of deliberately killing an Iraqi civilian they could face life imprisonment. 'No co-operation' It was widely believed that the soldiers on an intelligence mission in the city when they were challenged by Iraqi police officers, our correspondent said. Iraqi police and the interior ministry say that the soldiers opened fire when challenged. The BBC's Caroline Hawley said the issuing of the warrant indicated there was "a lot of local politicking going on". "This judge knows that, certainly in some circles, what happened [on Monday] was extremely unpopular," she said. Apology demand News of the warrant follows a week in which authorities in Basra said they would not co-operate with UK troops. Basra's governor, Mohammed al-Waili, said there would be no co-operation until there was an apology for the raid to free the soldiers. The UK has defended its action, saying the soldiers were handed to militiamen by rogue elements in the police, but Interior Minister Baqir Solagh Jabr has denied this. British troops have reduced their presence on the Iraqi city's streets. On Wednesday, Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim Jaafari and Mr Reid said the unrest had not strained relations between the two countries. |
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An Iraqi judge yesterday issued arrest warrants for two British soldiers, presumed to be SAS men, whose detention by Iraqi police and subsequent rescue by British forces in Basra last week has thrown an unprecedented spotlight on Britain's role in Iraq.
Early yesterday a flurry of rockets was fired at buildings occupied by British troops, but police said the only injuries were suffered by an Iraqi family in a house hit by one missile. Tensions aroused by last week's clashes remain high, with Basra's governor refusing to co-operate with British forces until the local authorities receive an apology and compensation for the damage caused when troops stormed the al-Jamiat police station on Monday.
The arrest warrants issued by Judge Raghib al-Mudhafar, chief of the Basra anti-terrorism court, have "no legal basis", according to British spokesmen, because of the agreement giving British forces legal immunity. "We have a legal obligation to investigate the allega- tions ourselves," said a Ministry of Defence official. "That is being done as we speak. We will continue to work with the Iraqis on the inquiry which the Iraqi government has begun."
But Judge Mudhafar says he is not convinced the two men are British - possibly because one of them was said to have been carrying a Canadian-made weapon - and they may not be entitled to immunity. This has added yet another layer of mystery to what is already an extremely murky affair.
Who are the two men, and what were they doing when they were seized outside Jamiat police station? What prompted British forces to smash down the wall of the station and demolish several prefabricated buildings inside the compound in the operation to snatch them back? Is it true that they had been handed over to a militia, or that the men inside the station were militia in police uniform?
The search for answers to those questions reveals that the picture the British public has been allowed to gain of our occupation of southern Iraq - one of relative tranquillity and co-operation compared to the bloody mayhem further north - is at best misleading, at worst deliberately distorted.
At the request of the MoD, British media obscured the faces of the two captured men. The two sides give wildly differing accounts of events, but it is not disputed that they had been sitting in a car outside the police station in Arabic dress. They were heavily armed and had an impressive array of surveillance equipment with them. It is not impossible that one or both of the men are not British. Special forces from Australia and New Zealand, for example, often work closely with the SAS. They could even be "civilian contractors" of the kind hired by the CIA, usually ex-special forces. But it is their mission that is more significant.
Subversion from nearby Iran has been blamed for a recent increase in attacks on British forces in southern Iraq, including the use of more sophisticated and deadly roadside bombs, which have claim- ed the lives of three soldiers. Initial assumptions that the undercover pair were working to combat such influence have been contradicted by military and other sources, however. Not only are they sceptical about the Iranian connection, pointing out that there is more than enough explosive and bomb-making expertise available in Iraq, but they say the surveillance operation was the result of a problem largely of Britain's own making.
The occupation authorities have turned a blind eye while Shia militias - including one loyal to the Prime Minister, Ibrahim al-Jafaari, who appeared in London last week with the Defence Secretary, John Reid, to condemn the violence - have infiltrated the police in southern Iraq. Another group supports the maverick Shia cleric, Moqtada al-Sadr; it is hardly surprising that Basra's police chief admitted last week that he could count on the loyalty of only a quarter of his men.
Corruption among the poorly trained and ill-disciplined police is another concern. "They sell their uni- forms to insurgents for $25 while also taking the wage as a police officer supporting the multinational force," said one British squaddie. "So why do we bother?"
It is the adherents of Ahmed al-Fartusi, who broke away from Mr Sadr's Mahdi Army, who are the greatest danger. According to sources in Basra, they had turned the Jamiat police station in south-western Basra into a hotbed for smuggling, political assassination and organised crime, and trouble was already feared when Mr Fartusi and another suspect were arrested last Sunday. The seizure of the surveillance team outside the station lit the touchpaper. British forces surround- ed the compound, and were attacked by crowds of Iraqis.
he two undercover men had opened fire when they were stopped at a police roadblock, killing at least one policeman.
Initial attempts by British military spokesmen to minimise what happened merely heightened confusion and suspicion. Claims that the crowd was small and the violence minor were quickly belied by photographs of a soldier leaping from the turret of his Warrior armoured vehicle, his uniform burning from a petrol bomb. British troops were said to have emerged largely unscathed, only for it to emerge later that one was flown home in a serious condition.
Not only did it appear that lethal force had to be used to suppress the riot, causing an unknown number of Iraqi deaths, it was also claimed that the two undercover men had opened fire when they were stopped at a police roadblock, killing at least one policeman. There were also sharply conflicting accounts of why troops crashed into the station: to determine where the pair were, according to one version, or to rescue a negotiating team, according to another. The surveillance team had been handed over to militants and were found at a house in the district, the military said, but Iraqis denied this, saying the building was within the compound.
Whichever details are correct, the result has been a rupture in whatever trust existed between the civil authorities and the military occupiers in Basra. British troops kept out of the centre of the city in the wake of the violence. "As the threat increases ... we don't take as many risks," said one private. "We keep things to a minimum."
Suppression of riot
Not only did it appear that lethal force had to be used to suppress the riot, causing an unknown number of Iraqi deaths, it was also claimed that the two undercover men had opened fire when they were stopped at a police roadblock, killing at least one policeman. There were also sharply conflicting accounts of why troops crashed into the station: to determine where the pair were, according to one version, or to rescue a negotiating team, according to another. The surveillance team had been handed over to militants and were found at a house in the district, the military said, but Iraqis denied this, saying the building was within the compound.
Whichever details are correct, the result has been a rupture in whatever trust existed between the civil authorities and the military occupiers in Basra. British troops kept out of the centre of the city in the wake of the violence. "As the threat increases ... we don't take as many risks," said one private. "We keep things to a minimum."
The affair has crystallised long-held suspicions that Britain has largely "kept the lid" on southern Iraq by avoiding American-style confrontation, at the price of allowing increasingly sinister forces to gain a foothold. These forces are still a long way from having control, but Britain's problem is that it has responsibility for the region without having real power. As one soldier put it: "There are heightened tensions because of the constitution and perceived lack of progress - various factions have been complaining about that. At the end of the day we are at the end of the line: blame the security forces."
Conspiracy theories, always rife in Iraq, have been fuelled dramatically by last week's events, according to Mazin Younis of the Iraqi League, an alliance of Iraqi exiles based in Britain. He has close contacts with Basra.
"Everyone you talk to [thinks the two undercover men] were up to something very bad... to kill somebody or destroy a building, and let us battle against each other," he said.
"Being in civilian clothing, wearing Arab clothes, made them look like spies. In Iraq, when you mention the word spy, people really get agitated. Even under Saddam Hussein, people were patriotic, they didn't like foreign spies in their country. So this image is very much of clandestine and secretive action."
The troops are reaping the results of errors made in the aftermath of the war - errors which were entirely foreseeable, according to Sir Hilary Synott, who administered southern Iraq in the early months of the occupation. "I wasn't all that surprised to see what happened," he said. "We needed a very large number of foreign police to train a police force which under Saddam was reduced to traffic duties and extortion - it was a massive task to rebuild a corrupt and hated police force into one devoted to the people.
"But we were never given sufficient resources, and they came too late. There was totally insufficient preparation for the post-conflict situation, and all the attention was on reconstructing the Iraqi military."
Troops on the ground fear that the situation can only deteriorate as Iraq prepares for a referendum in three weeks' time on the constitution. Almost simultaneously, Saddam is due to go on trial. "The forecast is things could build up," said one soldier, who talked of a "desert Bosnia". He added: "The problem we have is we can't shut ourselves away and not go out - there's always a degree of risk when we go out the door."
An Iraqi judge yesterday issued arrest warrants for two British soldiers, presumed to be SAS men, whose detention by Iraqi police and subsequent rescue by British forces in Basra last week has thrown an unprecedented spotlight on Britain's role in Iraq.
Early yesterday a flurry of rockets was fired at buildings occupied by British troops, but police said the only injuries were suffered by an Iraqi family in a house hit by one missile. Tensions aroused by last week's clashes remain high, with Basra's governor refusing to co-operate with British forces until the local authorities receive an apology and compensation for the damage caused when troops stormed the al-Jamiat police station on Monday.
The arrest warrants issued by Judge Raghib al-Mudhafar, chief of the Basra anti-terrorism court, have "no legal basis", according to British spokesmen, because of the agreement giving British forces legal immunity. "We have a legal obligation to investigate the allega- tions ourselves," said a Ministry of Defence official. "That is being done as we speak. We will continue to work with the Iraqis on the inquiry which the Iraqi government has begun."
But Judge Mudhafar says he is not convinced the two men are British - possibly because one of them was said to have been carrying a Canadian-made weapon - and they may not be entitled to immunity. This has added yet another layer of mystery to what is already an extremely murky affair.
Who are the two men, and what were they doing when they were seized outside Jamiat police station? What prompted British forces to smash down the wall of the station and demolish several prefabricated buildings inside the compound in the operation to snatch them back? Is it true that they had been handed over to a militia, or that the men inside the station were militia in police uniform?
The search for answers to those questions reveals that the picture the British public has been allowed to gain of our occupation of southern Iraq - one of relative tranquillity and co-operation compared to the bloody mayhem further north - is at best misleading, at worst deliberately distorted.
At the request of the MoD, British media obscured the faces of the two captured men. The two sides give wildly differing accounts of events, but it is not disputed that they had been sitting in a car outside the police station in Arabic dress. They were heavily armed and had an impressive array of surveillance equipment with them. It is not impossible that one or both of the men are not British. Special forces from Australia and New Zealand, for example, often work closely with the SAS. They could even be "civilian contractors" of the kind hired by the CIA, usually ex-special forces. But it is their mission that is more significant.
Subversion from nearby Iran has been blamed for a recent increase in attacks on British forces in southern Iraq, including the use of more sophisticated and deadly roadside bombs, which have claim- ed the lives of three soldiers. Initial assumptions that the undercover pair were working to combat such influence have been contradicted by military and other sources, however. Not only are they sceptical about the Iranian connection, pointing out that there is more than enough explosive and bomb-making expertise available in Iraq, but they say the surveillance operation was the result of a problem largely of Britain's own making.
The occupation authorities have turned a blind eye while Shia militias - including one loyal to the Prime Minister, Ibrahim al-Jafaari, who appeared in London last week with the Defence Secretary, John Reid, to condemn the violence - have infiltrated the police in southern Iraq. Another group supports the maverick Shia cleric, Moqtada al-Sadr; it is hardly surprising that Basra's police chief admitted last week that he could count on the loyalty of only a quarter of his men.
Corruption among the poorly trained and ill-disciplined police is another concern. "They sell their uni- forms to insurgents for $25 while also taking the wage as a police officer supporting the multinational force," said one British squaddie. "So why do we bother?"
It is the adherents of Ahmed al-Fartusi, who broke away from Mr Sadr's Mahdi Army, who are the greatest danger. According to sources in Basra, they had turned the Jamiat police station in south-western Basra into a hotbed for smuggling, political assassination and organised crime, and trouble was already feared when Mr Fartusi and another suspect were arrested last Sunday. The seizure of the surveillance team outside the station lit the touchpaper. British forces surround- ed the compound, and were attacked by crowds of Iraqis.
Initial attempts by British military spokesmen to minimise what happened merely heightened confusion and suspicion. Claims that the crowd was small and the violence minor were quickly belied by photographs of a soldier leaping from the turret of his Warrior armoured vehicle, his uniform burning from a petrol bomb. British troops were said to have emerged largely unscathed, only for it to emerge later that one was flown home in a serious condition.
Not only did it appear that lethal force had to be used to suppress the riot, causing an unknown number of Iraqi deaths, it was also claimed that the two undercover men had opened fire when they were stopped at a police roadblock, killing at least one policeman. There were also sharply conflicting accounts of why troops crashed into the station: to determine where the pair were, according to one version, or to rescue a negotiating team, according to another.
The surveillance team had been handed over to militants and were found at a house in the district, the military said, but Iraqis denied this, saying the building was within the compound.
Whichever details are correct, the result has been a rupture in whatever trust existed between the civil authorities and the military occupiers in Basra. British troops kept out of the centre of the city in the wake of the violence. "As the threat increases ... we don't take as many risks," said one private. "We keep things to a minimum."
The affair has crystallised long-held suspicions that Britain has largely "kept the lid" on southern Iraq by avoiding American-style confrontation, at the price of allowing increasingly sinister forces to gain a foothold. These forces are still a long way from having control, but Britain's problem is that it has responsibility for the region without having real power. As one soldier put it: "There are heightened tensions because of the constitution and perceived lack of progress - various factions have been complaining about that. At the end of the day we are at the end of the line: blame the security forces."
Conspiracy theories, always rife in Iraq, have been fuelled dramatically by last week's events, according to Mazin Younis of the Iraqi League, an alliance of Iraqi exiles based in Britain. He has close contacts with Basra. "Everyone you talk to [thinks the two undercover men] were up to something very bad... to kill somebody or destroy a building, and let us battle against each other," he said.
"Being in civilian clothing, wearing Arab clothes, made them look like spies. In Iraq, when you mention the word spy, people really get agitated. Even under Saddam Hussein, people were patriotic, they didn't like foreign spies in their country. So this image is very much of clandestine and secretive action."
The troops are reaping the results of errors made in the aftermath of the war - errors which were entirely foreseeable, according to Sir Hilary Synott, who administered southern Iraq in the early months of the occupation. "I wasn't all that surprised to see what happened," he said. "We needed a very large number of foreign police to train a police force which under Saddam was reduced to traffic duties and extortion - it was a massive task to rebuild a corrupt and hated police force into one devoted to the people.
"But we were never given sufficient resources, and they came too late. There was totally insufficient preparation for the post-conflict situation, and all the attention was on reconstructing the Iraqi military."
Troops on the ground fear that the situation can only deteriorate as Iraq prepares for a referendum in three weeks' time on the constitution. Almost simultaneously, Saddam is due to go on trial. "The forecast is things could build up," said one soldier, who talked of a "desert Bosnia". He added: "The problem we have is we can't shut ourselves away and not go out - there's always a degree of risk when we go out the door."
Iraq judge
issues warrant for British soldiers
(Filed: 24/09/2005)
An Iraqi judge has issued an arrest warrant for the two British soldiers freed by UK forces last Monday, it has been reported.
But the Ministry of Defence has said that it has not been informed of the warrants.
The judge told the BBC that the soldiers were wanted in connection with the deaths of several Iraqis during a confrontation with British forces.
He said the two men could face life sentences if they were found guilty of deliberately killing an Iraqi civilian during a disturbance on Monday.
The under-cover SAS soldiers are thought to have been on a surveillance mission outside a police station in Basra when they were challenged by an Iraqi police patrol. Iraqi officials have accused the soldiers of opening fire as they tried to escape.
The soldiers were held for hours while British military authorities demanded their release.
The BBC said the judge was not convinced the two men were British, and therefore would not be immune from arrest and possible prosecution in Iraq.
Major Steve Melbourne, a spokesman for the military, told the 's Today programme: "We are not fully aware of the issue of these warrants. But what I must say is they have no legal basis for the issue of these.
"But what we will do is continue to work closely with Iraqis who actually have their investigation team down here now and also with the Iraqi government."
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By Abdel-Razzak Hameed
BASRA, Iraq (Reuters) - An Iraqi judge has issued arrest warrants for two British soldiers freed after a British raid in Basra, an Iraqi lawyer said on Saturday, and thousands rallied in the southern city in support of a new constitution.
Judge Raghib Hassan issued the warrants on Thursday, accusing the men of killing an Iraqi policeman and wounding another, carrying unlicensed weapons and holding false identification, Kassim al-Sabti, the head of the lawyers' syndicate in Basra told Reuters.
Defence Secretary John Reid said the Ministry of Defence had not received any arrest warrant for British soldiers in Iraq, adding that in any case the warrants would have no legal basis.
"Iraqi law is very clear. British personnel are immune from Iraqi legal process. They remain subject to British law," he said in a statement.
The whereabouts of the two soldiers was not clear.
Attempt # 1
British forces mounted a bid to free the two soldiers on Monday, but were initially repelled as a crowd of angry Iraqis petrol-bombed an armoured vehicle.
Attempt # 2
Later British forces returned and armoured vehicles broke down the walls of the jail. The two were freed from a private house nearby, where they were believed to have been held by a local militia.
Basra authorities said British troops killed two Iraqi police during the raid.
Monday's flare-up has harmed the relationship British forces were able to build with local Iraqis in and around Basra, a relatively stable city compared with other parts of Iraq.
Basra's governing council has suspended all cooperation with the British until they apologise, guarantee that similar actions do not recur and provide compensation for damage inflicted.
Two investigations into the events leading up to the rescue are under way by Iraqi authorities and the British military.
Iraqi police said U.S. troops killed a family of four in Kerbala, south of Baghdad, on Saturday, reflecting military nerves on edge across the country.
Police said the family's passenger car apparently got too close to a U.S. convoy, which opened fire, killing a father and mother and their 13-year-old son and nine-year-old daughter.
RALLY FOR CONSTITUTION
Basra is the largest city in majority-Shi'ite southern Iraq, and thousands of citizens rallied on Saturday in support of a proposed new Iraqi constitution which many Shi'ites hope will boost their status in the fragmented country.
The rally followed calls last week by Iraq's most senior Shi'ite cleric, Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, to vote in favour of the charter, which will be put to a referendum on Oct 15.
Shi'ites were suppressed under Saddam Hussein, who banned major religious ceremonies at the holy cities of Najaf and Kerbala and crushed a Shi'ite revolt in 1991. Such ceremonies have drawn crowds of a million or more since he was ousted.
Iraq's U.S.-backed government is dominated by southern Shi'ites and Kurds from the north -- to the dismay of the Sunni Arabs, who make up just 20 percent of the population but have dominated Iraq for decades.
Their influence has all but disappeared since Saddam fell. Many Sunnis fear if the constitution is approved at the referendum, it will formalise their reduced role by giving Shi'ites broad autonomy in line with that already enjoyed by Kurds -- including control over oil revenues.
The government and its U.S. military backers face a Sunni insurgency across the country, in which daily bombings and shootings kill police, soldiers and civilians.
On Saturday morning, a suicide car bomb exploded near an Iraqi army checkpoint in Baghdad, killing two Iraqi soldiers and wounding five other people, police said.
The attack, near a restaurant in the capital's Karrada district, destroyed several cars and sent up a plume of smoke.
Three soldiers and two civilians were wounded, police said. Iraqi police and the U.S. military sealed off the area.
Al Qaeda claimed responsibility for the attack, saying 11 people had died in the blast.
"One of your dear brothers ... today blew himself up in a car near a group of infidels from the army, near Karrada in Baghdad, which destroyed two cars, and killed more than 11 infidels."
Separately, a U.S. soldier was killed by a roadside bomb southeast of Baghdad, the U.S. military said on Saturday.
The death raises to 1,911 the number of U.S. troops to have died in Iraq since the start of the war.
(Additional reporting by Aseel Kami in Baghdad and Jeremy Lovell in London)
The two undercover British soldiers
were arrested by Iraqi authorities Monday after allegedly shooting two Iraqi
policemen who tried to detain them. One policeman reportedly was killed.
A British armored patrol then surrounded
the jail, triggering a riot. Angry residents attacked the British armor
with Molotov cocktails and pelted soldiers with stones as they jumped from the
burning vehicles.
Later, British armored vehicles crashed through the prison walls in an effort to
rescue the detained soldiers. They subsequently were found in a nearby house in
the custody of militiamen, Britain said.
Iraqis have accused British special forces of planning a terrorist attack on Basra.
Sheikh Hassan al-Zarqani, a spokesperson for rebel Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, told Socialist Worker that the two undercover soldiers seized by Iraqi police last Monday were armed with explosives and a remote control detonator.
The soldiers were disguised as members of Sadr’s militia, the Mehdi Army. The arrests sparked protests after British troops backed by tanks attempted to free the soldiers from an Iraqi police station.
Sheikh Hassan said trouble started when a senior Sadr official, Sheikh Ahmad Fartusi, was arrested on Sunday.
“We called a protest outside the mayor’s office on Monday demanding the Sheikh be released,” Sheikh Hassan said. “This protest was peaceful.
“But events in our city took a sinister turn when the police tried to stop two men dressed as members of the Mehdi Army driving near the protest. The men opened fire on the police and passers-by. After a car chase they were arrested.”
Basra, Iraq’s southern oil city, had been held up as a model of successful occupation by British authorities.
But many of the promises made in the wake of the 2003 invasion never materialised.
Discontent has also been building over a policy that favours some tribes above others.
The largely Shia city feared it would be a target of a bombing ahead of an important religious festival. The explosive find sparked rumours that British troops were about to commit an atrocity.
“What our police found in their car was very disturbing — weapons, explosives and a remote control detonator,” Sheikh Hassan said. “These are the weapons of terrorists. We believe these soldiers were planning an attack on a market or other civilian targets, and thanks be to god they were stopped and countless lives were saved.”
The arrest of the two soldiers brought discontent to the boil.
“The two men were taken to the police station to answer questions about their activities. That afternoon the British army came in tanks and armoured cars demanding the two be released.
“The police refused as they were considered to be planning terrorist attacks, and as they were disguised as members of the Mehdi Army, the police wanted to know who their target was.
“Thousands of people gathered to defend the police station. British troops opened fire and the crowds responded with stones and firebombs.”
Residents in Basra are now demanding the British authorites answer questions about the activities of the two men.
“Why were these men dressed as Mehdi Army?” Sheikh Hassan said. “Why were they carrying explosives and where were they planning to detonate their bomb?
“Were they planing an outrage so that they could create tensions with other communities? Were they going to kill innocent people to put the blame on Al Qaida, who do not have any support in our city.”
The questions were never answered. Instead British troops returned that night.
“The soldiers drove a tank into the police station and threatened to kill the police officers if they did not hand over the two terrorists,” Sheikh Hassan said. “It is only then, to save any further loss of life, that the men were released.”
Sheikh Hassan appealed to the British people to demand the withdrawal of all troops.
“We have only the warmest regards for the British people, who have protested in their tens of thousands against the occupation of our country.
“We fear than the British government plans to send more troops. We appeal to the British people to oppose this as it can only deepen our problems”
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She said there were no
special plans for compensating the
relatives of the four
Iraqis killed and the 44 injured in violence surrounding the raid last
Monday.
"Any citizen who was hurt can apply for compensation in the same way as if they had been hit by an army Humvee or truck," said Ms McLuskie. There were no plans to help rebuild the police station. Many Basra residents are angry at what they said were "suspicious" and heavy-handed tactics by the British military. The soldiers, who were disguised in Arab dress, were arrested by Iraqi police then freed by British troops as tanks smashed down the wall of the police station. The raid infuriated locals, who set two British armoured vehicles ablaze and pelted soldiers with rocks. "We explained clearly to the authorities that they were British forces on a run-of-the mill observation mission," said Ms McLuskie. Multinational forces in Iraq are immune from Iraqi prosecution, but Judge Raghib Mohammed Hassan said he had issued the arrest warrants "after two foreign men were caught by Iraqi police in possession of weapons and without ID". He said that, until yesterday, no one had contacted him to inform him of their identity. "They are still wanted under Iraqi law," he said. He showed the Guardian a plastic-coated card which he said was the only document found on the men. The card read in English: "In an emergency, please call US and UK forces on these numbers." There were phone numbers for the cities of Amara, Nassiriya and Basra.
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British Warrior armoured vehicles punched holes in the wall of a police station where the two men were initially held and then destroyed a building belonging to the Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi army where they were later transferred. Senior aides of Sadr, who twice led bloody uprisings against American forces in the south last year, sought to capitalise on a rumour that has gained widespread acceptance in Basra that the two men were Israeli spies caught trying to plant bombs.
Abdel Hadi al-Daraji, the cleric's top official in his main bastion, the sprawling Sadr City slums of Baghdad, told The Daily Telegraph that Britain was plotting to start an ethnic war by carrying out mass-casualty bombings targeting Shia civilians and then blaming the attacks on Sunni Arab groups.
"Everyone knows the occupiers' agenda," insisted Mr Daraji, who is currently the only Mahdi army official authorised to speak directly on Sadr's behalf.
"They are in bed with Mossad [the Israeli intelligence service] and their intention is to keep Iraq an unstable battlefield so they can exploit their interests in Iraq." But Mr Daraji insisted that Sadr was not going to call for a Shia uprising in Basra, where he enjoys only a limited, if growing, following in the city's slums.
