"A British force of more than 10 tanks backed by helicopters attacked the central jail and destroyed it. This is an irresponsible act," al-Waili said, adding that the British force had spirited the prisoners away to an unknown location.

The British government is already downplaying this as a "negotiated release" and the media is helping them as usual, calling it a "rescue". The above article is one of the few that is providing more of the details and quoting Iraqi sources. (from this article)

Despite the Brits' spin on the jailbreak, this whole incident certainly lends credibility to the idea that many of the so-called insurgent attacks and bombings are little more than "coalition" orchestrations designed to perpetuate chaos in the country to precipitate continued involvment in Iraq by the US military.

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UK Soldiers Caught Dressed As Iraqis Killing Local Police

David Cohen | September 20, 2005

Jeff - The BBC reported somthing VERY vague about an attack on the Basra jail but it caught my attention, so I switched to the Australian TV channels to find more info:

The reports stated two British commando special forces dressed as Iraqis have been cought by the Iraqis after they were found shooting and killing local policemen. And the Iraqis put them in jail.

The British army then, came with tanks, destroyed the jail and freed the two british commandos. In the process, all the Iraqi prisoners in the jail ran away to freedom.

Riots started, and I saw British tanks engulfed with molotov coktails and British soldiers runing out of thier tanks, some were on fire.

This report give crediblity to the 'conspiracy theorists' who have long claimed many terrorist acts in Iraq are, in fact, being initiated and carried out by US, British and Israeli forces.

The TRUTH is the British had to either rescue or kill these two commandos in order to keep these operations secret. Fortunately for the two Brits, they were saved.

The British Commander of the forces involved gave such idiotic excuses I won't even bother to report them to you. The followng just moved on the net...

Iraqi Prison Stormed By British Tanks And Helicopters

British forces in tanks and helicopters stormed an Iraqi jail tonight to rescue two service personnel who were arrested after allegedly shooting dead a local policeman and wounding another, the governor of Basra said.

The two men had been taken to the Basra jail after violence erupted earlier today in the southern Iraqi city.

Photographs of the two - thought to be special forces officers - were taken and released to the media, showing them bandaged and bloody.

British troops had arrived at the police station where the two men were being held and encircled the building.

They were attacked by demonstrators with rocks and petrol bombs.

One soldier was seen engulfed by flames tumbling from his tank and gunfire was exchanged between the two sides, leaving three soldiers injured and two civilians dead.

Later, more than 10 tanks and helicopters broke down the walls of the jail in the rescue operation to release the two arrested servicemen.

It was also reported that 150 Iraqi prisoners escaped in what Mohammed al-Waili, the governor of Basra, described as a 'barbaric, savage and irresponsible' act.

The MoD refused to comment after officials said that the two men were undercover officers dressed as Arabs.

The spokesman said: "We can confirm that the two military personnel have been released."

Mr al-Waili said: "A British force of more than 10 tanks backed by helicopters attacked the central jail and destroyed it. This is an irresponsible act."

He said the British force had spirited the prisoners away to an unknown location.

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British Attack Basra Jail to Free Two

Associated Press | September 19, 2005

By ABBAS FAYADH

BASRA, Iraq (AP) - British forces using tanks broke down the walls of the central jail in the southern city of Basra late Monday and freed two Britons, allegedly undercover commandos, who had been arrested on charges of shooting two Iraqi policemen.

Witnesses said about 150 Iraqi prisoners also fled the jail.

Violence flared earlier in the day as demonstrators hurled stones and Molotov cocktails at British tanks; at least four people were killed.

The fighting erupted after British armor encircled the jail where the two Britons were being held. During the melee one soldier could be seen scrambling for his life from a burning tank and the rock-throwing mob.

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Iraqi police detain two British soldiers in Basra

Xinhuanet | September 19, 2005

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.

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British vehicles crash into Basra jail

The Age | September 19, 2005

Tensions between British forces and Shi'ites in southern Iraq are at a dangerous and chaotic low after British armoured forces smashed down a jail wall and freed two British undercover soldiers who had been arrested by Iraqi police.

Iraqi authorities in the southern oil city of Basra claimed that British armoured vehicles demolished part of its main jail and snatched the two men - thought to be commandos in Arab clothing who allegedly fired on Iraqi police officers.

Britain's Defence Ministry, though, said the two men were released as a result of negotiations. But it stopped short of denying that the jail had been raided.

Whatever the truth, the incident was part of a chaotic day of rioting, in which at least two Iraqis were killed.

The clashes raise questions about how much sovereignty Iraqi authorities have really been granted when the US-led Coalition Provision Authority handed over power to an interim Iraqi government in the northern summer of 2004.

It's not clear what effect it might have on the work of Australian troops protecting Japanese forces in the city of Samawah, north-west of Basra.

Outside Basra jail, a melee broke out in the streets as angry demonstrators attacked the encircling British armour with stones and Molotov cocktails.

During the chaos, one British soldier could be seen scrambling for his life from a burning Warrior armoured personnel carrier and the rock-throwing mob.

Press Association, the British news agency, reported that three British soldiers were hurt during the violence, but said none of their injuries was life-threatening.

After nightfall, 10 British armoured vehicles returned to the jail, crashed through walls and freed the two captives, witnesses said. An Associated Press reporter saw the vehicles smash into the jail.

While witnesses and officials said the British raid used "tanks," it was not clear whether the tracked vehicles were Challenger 2 Main Battle Tanks or Warrior Infantry Fighting Vehicles, both in use by British forces in Iraq.

The arrests of the two British soldiers appeared to have been the first real and public test of how far that sovereignty extends.

There have been no known incidents of Iraqi authorities arresting US soldiers operating in the Iraqi heartland.

Mohammed al-Waili, the governor of Basra province, condemned the British for raiding the prison, an act he called "barbaric, savage and irresponsible".

"A British force of more than 10 tanks backed by helicopters attacked the central jail and destroyed it. This is an irresponsible act," al-Waili said, adding that the British force had spirited the prisoners away to an unknown location.

Aquil Jabbar, an Iraqi television cameraman who lives across the street from the Basra jail, said about 150 Iraqi prisoners fled as British commandos stormed inside and rescued their comrades.

While the Shi'ite-dominated south of Iraq, where 8,500 British troops are based, has been far quieter than US-patrolled Sunni regions to the north, Britons have come under increasingly frequent attacks in recent weeks.

The British military has reported 96 deaths since the war began in 2003.

That compares with the deaths of 1,899 Americans elsewhere.

Basra authorities reported arresting the two Britons, described as special forces commandos dressed in Arab clothing, for allegedly shooting two Iraqi policemen, one of whom died.

British armour then encircled the jail where the two Britons were held.

Television cameramen from Arab satellite broadcasters in the Persian Gulf were allowed to photograph the two men, who appeared to be Westerners and who were by that time sitting on the floor in the jail in blue jeans and T-shirts, their hands tied behind their backs.

One of the men had a bandage covering most of the top of his head, the other had blood on his clothes. Television commentary identified them only as Britons.

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Bloody confrontation in Basra

A day of violence follows after two British soldiers are detained by Iraqi police, prompting army to assault station, free their comrades

Newsday | September 20, 2005

BY TIMOTHY M. PHELPS

WASHINGTON -- The British army battled Iraqi forces they trained themselves yesterday as anti-British violence broke out in Basra, the country's second-largest city.

Early in the day, two British soldiers in civilian clothes were detained by Iraqi police after they were involved in a shoot-out in which at least one Iraqi policeman was reported killed.

When negotiations over their release dragged on, the British surrounded the central police station with eight armored vehicles and smashed down the front door, rescuing their comrades, Iraqi officials said. Angry Iraqis set two of the vehicles on fire, forcing one British soldier to jump from the flames, news photographs showed. Three soldiers were hurt, Britain's Press Association reported.

The British Ministry of Defense confirmed last night that the two detained soldiers had been released but would not confirm or deny that troops had assaulted the police station.

In July, while taking a Newsday reporter on a tour of Basra jails and police stations, British officials touted the city's criminal justice system as an example of coalition forces' achievements in Iraq.

But yesterday's extensive violence showed how fragile the progress has been even in Basra, a majority-Shia city that suffered particularly severe repression under Saddam Hussein.

Basra had been tense since Sunday, when British forces arrested two Shia leaders of the Mahdi Army, the private militia of Muqtada al-Sadr, an anti-Western cleric from a famous Iraqi family. The two were said to be suspected in recent attacks on British soldiers.

The police forces created and trained by the British are now so little trusted in Basra that British troops have been told not to submit to Iraqi police checkpoints. The police have been heavily infiltrated by the Shia militias including the Mahdi Army.

As a further indication of Basra's problems, an Iraqi journalist, Fakher Haider, was found dead yesterday after being "arrested" at his home by armed men who said they were police. Haider worked for Western news organizations, including The New York Times. Journalists, including Steven Vincent of New York, have been favorite targets of Basra's Shia militias.

The Shia violence in the south, coupled with the recent surge in Sunni insurgent attacks in and around Baghdad, made it appear that coalition forces were losing, not gaining ground.

There have been reports in recent months that al-Sadr was trying to form an alliance with non-Iraqi Sunni Arab militants. While Sunni and Shia religious extremists disdain each others' branch of Islam, they share a hatred for the West.

Yesterday, the most-wanted terrorist leader in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, issued a statement saying he would not attack al-Sadr's forces, raising the prospect of Sunni-Shia cooperation on Western attacks.