LONDON (AFP) - The British army said it had rescued two of its
soldiers from Shiite militiamen in southern Iraq following fears
local police had colluded with the militia amid a mounting
breakdown in order.
British authorities said Tuesday their troops stormed an Iraqi
police jail in Basra the day before in a bid to rescue the pair,
but only after talks for the men's release failed.
Defense Secretary John Reid said the military had been "absolutely
right" to stage the dramatic rescue mission, noting that it was
"very worrying" how the pair ended up in militia hands.
"But we don't know whether the police, for instance under threat of
their own death, handed two soldiers over or what was the degree of
collusion," Reid told BBC television.
Brigadier John Lorimer, commander of the 12 Mechanized Brigade in
Basra, said in a statement that he did not know why Iraqi police
had not handed the two soldiers over to multi-national forces, as
London says is required by law.
Iraqi officials said the two soldiers, who appeared to be working
undercover, were dressed in Arab clothes and driving a civilian
car. They were detained after firing at a police patrol, Iraqi
police said.
The rescue operation followed a shooting incident and riots in
which two British armored vehicles were torched as their crews fled
for safety in the southern Iraqi city of Basra.
Reid said the soldiers seen emerging from a burning tank under mob
attack suffered only minor injuries. Photographs of the attack were
splashed over the front pages of British newspapers.
Lorimer said British forces had repeatedly asked police to free the
men.
"From an early stage, I had good reason to believe that the lives
of the 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," he said.
"As shown on television these troops were attacked with firebombs
and rockets by a violent and determined crowd," he said.
"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
police station. By taking this action, we were able to confirm that
the soldiers were no longer being held by the Iraqi police."
The pair were unharmed and now back with British forces, Lorimer
added.
An Iraqi member of parliament, Ali Dabagh, said the Shiite
militiamen from the Mehdi Army had attempted to take the British
soldiers hostage to exchange them for two militia leaders arrested
on Sunday by British forces in the town.
Independent defense analyst Paul Beaver said in London that the
problems appeared to have been caused by a British intelligence
operation to infiltrate insurgent forces going wrong.
Britain's defense secretary said it had taken time to train and
build trust with the Iraqi authorities installed following the
overthrow of Saddam Hussein during the US-led invasion of Iraq in
March 2003.
Reid refused to give a definite time for British troops to leave
the country.
"We have said all along that our troops will stay there as long as
they are needed and requested by the Iraqis, that when they
withdraw... it will not be an event, it will be a process," he
said.
Reid acknowledged that as the interim Iraqi government and
coalition forces seek to cement democracy in Iraq, the insurgency
was likely to grow even "more frenetic, more frantic."
