Three of the six British soldiers killed in Iraq were executed after surrendering their weapons, it was claimed today.
The Royal Military Police officers, a sergeant and five corporals, were shot dead after trying to quell a demonstration of Shi'ite Muslims in the town of Majar al Kabir yesterday.
The account of a local man, who tried to save the life of the sergeant in charge of the patrol, backs up Lieutenant Colonel Ronnie McCourt who said today: "This attack was unprovoked. It was murder."
Two of the men died when shooting broke out as the military policemen faced a large crowd of Iraqis angry at the way searches were being conducted by British troops.
The other four were pursued to the local police station where a third soldier was killed in the doorway. The remaining three battled it out with Iraqi gunmen for two hours before giving up their weapons. Then, according to Salam Al Wahele, the men were shot at least twice each in the head. Mr Al Wahele, 30, said: "They had surrendered and had given their weapons to the militiamen. I led a sergeant to a side room and said he could escape by a window but he said he did not want to go and leave the other men behind.
"He left me there and went back to the room where all the men were shot. They may have been killed by their own weapons I think, or AK-47s."
Iraqis claimed the "Red Caps" were attacked after firing into crowds at Majar al Kabir, 90 miles north of Basra.
But British forces today denied they had provoked the attack and gave local leaders 48 hours to hand over the Iraqi men responsible.
The troops, who were part of 156 Provost Company, attached to 16 Air Assault Brigade in Colchester, were named as:
Sergeant Simon Alexander Hamilton-Jewell, from Chessington. He was 41 and single.
Corporal Russell Aston, 30, from Swadlincote, Derbyshire, married with a daughter. Corporal Paul Graham Long, 24, from Colchester, married. Corporal Simon Miller, 21, Tyne and Wear, single.
Lance Corporal Benjamin John McGowan Hyde, 23, Northallerton, North Yorkshire, single. Lance Corporal Thomas Richard Keys, 20, from Bala, North Wales.
[...]
The men were faced with thousands of angry demonstrators at Majar al Kabir.
Witnesses said the violence came after days of tension because of methods used to search civilians for weapons, including the use of sniffer dogs.[Don't you imagine that British troops have been using dogs since they arrived "in country" back in March?--Jen]
"These British soldiers came with their dogs and pointed weapons at women and children," said one Iraqi. "As Muslims, we can't accept dogs at our homes."[As 'Muslims,' there seems to be a lot of things they "won't" put up with. Is Iraq a completely dog-free country?--J.T.]
The first two of the military policemen were killed on the spot outside the mayor's office in the market place.
The mob then chased the four other members of the patrol to the nearby police station.
There were reports that two dozen Iraqi policemen at the station asked the military policemen to flee with them but the British insisted on staying.
The bodies of the men were recovered at noon today. At least four Iraqis were reported to have been killed and 18 injured. Senior British officers were today meeting members of Majar al Kabir's council in the nearby city of Amarah to demand the surrender of the Iraqi gunmen responsible.
The soldiers were in the area to train a local Iraqi police force.
Major Bryn Parry-Jones, commanding officer of 156 Provost Company, said: "The loss of six soldiers from such a small, tight-knit unit clearly comes as a dreadful shock.
"We ask our men and women to risk the ultimate sacrifice in the service of their country, and it is the sad truth that sometimes that sacrifice comes to pass." Tony Blair, in a hushed and sombre Commons, voiced sympathy for the families and praised the military policemen who had been "doing an extraordinary and heroic job in trying to bring normal and decent life to people in Iraq".
Downing Street declined to be drawn into the claims and counter claims about the tragedy at Majar al Kabir.
Downing Street said, however, that it "did not recognise the picture of events" being painted by those claiming that aggressive house-to-house searches had set off the violence. Security measures to protect troops in Iraq were being stepped up this afternoon.
Up until now British troops had discarded helmets and flak jackets in an attempt to win the "hearts and minds" of the Iraqis.
[Big Mistake.--Jen]
Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon hinted that up to 5,000 more troops might be sent in. Mr Hoon insisted that the peace-keeping operation in Iraq had not got out of control.
He said: "We have had remarkable success across southern Iraq. We have not had this kind of incident before."
At the Royal Military Police headquarters in Chichester, West Sussex, flags flew at half-mast this afternoon. Soldiers formed a queue to sign a book of condolence.
[...]
Colonel John Baber, regimental secretary of the Royal Military Police Association, said: "This is without doubt the blackest day in the history of our long and distinguished regiment.
[...]
he Iraqi National Congress also condemned the attacks on the British troops.
Dr Ahmad Chalabi insisted that the "overwhelming" majority of Iraqi people remained grateful to the coalition for removing Saddam Hussein and the Ba'athist regime.
He said: "We denounce the horrific attacks on British forces and give our deepest sympathies to the families of those soldiers who have died giving hope to a nation that has suffered for so long.
"We strongly urge the occupation authorities to move quickly to empower an Iraqi provisional government in order to fill the political vacuum."
Unfortunately, Chalabi is quite wrong and this fatal incident proves how politically primitive Iraq still is, that it is most definitely
ready to form its own provisional government.
There are clearly radical Islamist elements who are willing to stir up lynch mobs to have vigilante justice rather than the rule of law.
Sadly, this massacre of British soldiers has every element our men met in Mogadishu (And we know who was behind the arms and the planning there--Osama Bin Laden): they weren't properly armed or equipped; the mob seperated the soldiers from their vehicle and their radio (As with Somalia, a large group of reinforcments wasn't far away) and the mob turned on the lightly-armed soldiers with the very AK-47's and heavy machine guns the Iraqi killers supposedly were outraged at being thought to possess.
My prayers of condolence and sympathy go out to these fine mens' families and loved ones in the UK.
God rest them.
They assumed the best about their new Iraqi brothers and sisters and surely most Iraqis are good, decent people.
But there are still a lot of Islamofascist bad guys who need to be rooted out like a cancer before the time to win their "hearts and minds" has arrived.
Right now, we need to gain their respect and establish democratic order and the rule of law.
This means body armor, soldier's arms, hard helmets not berets and an attitude of vigilance until the Iraqis prove that they're ready for Civilization and democratic self-government.
Some of the Iraqis have to be carefully taught that violent murder is not the way to deal with one's political enemies, as Saddam did, or simply "non-Muslims."
Home
