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Iraq judge seeks arrest of freed British soldiers |
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from Reuters
Entered into the database on Saturday, September 24th, 2005 @ 12:28:26 MST |
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An Iraqi judge has issued arrest warrants for two British undercover
soldiers who were freed after a controversial British raid in the city of Basra,
an Iraqi lawyer said on Saturday. Judge Raghib Hassan accused the men of killing an Iraqi policeman and
wounding another, carrying unlicensed weapons and holding false identification,
said Kassim al-Sabti, the head of the lawyers syndicate in the southern city. Britain's Ministry of Defence said on Saturday the warrants had no legal basis. "All British troops in Iraq come under the jurisdiction of Britain,"
a defence spokesman said in London. The whereabouts of the two soldiers was not clear. 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. Later British forces returned and armoured vehicles broke down the walls of
the jail. The two soldiers were later freed from a private house nearby, where
they were believed to be held by a local militia. Basra authorities had 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. Officials said Basra's governing council stopped all cooperation with the British
until they apologise, guarantee that similar actions are not taken again and
provide compensation for damage inflicted during the operation. An investigation into the events leading up to the rescue is under way by Iraqi
authorities and the British military. "We will continue to work closely with the Iraqis and the inquiry which
the Iraq government has begun into the events of Monday," the British defence
spokesman said. Britain's secretary of defence said he stood by the actions of the forces on
the ground. "They did what they judged was appropriate at the time and I commend them
for the swift and decisive action in very difficult circumstances," John
Reid said. Read from Looking Glass News British bombers Fake Terrorism Is a Coalition's Best Friend British "Pseudo-Gang" Terrorists Exposed in Basra British "Undercover Soldiers" Caught driving Booby Trapped
Car Agent Provocateurs? UK Soldiers Dressed as Iraqis Killing Local Police
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