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Two Britons detained in Iraq for firing at police

gaz | 19.09.2005 18:31

BASRA, Iraq (Reuters) - Violence erupted in Basra on Monday after Iraqi authorities said they had detained two British undercover soldiers in the southern city for firing on Iraqi police.

 http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=topNews&storyID=2005-09-19T143807Z_01_YUE946529_RTRUKOC_0_UK-IRAQ-BRITONS.xml

gaz

Comments

Hide the following 15 comments

Americans have been trying to get a civil war going for yonks

19.09.2005 19:29

The CIA and others have been talking about a civil war from time it's pretty obvious that some of the so called suicide bombs have U.S written all over them. Perhaps the brits in the south are also trying to get the Shia's firmly onto the war path. Once they get two sides going at it the arms dealers will have a field day.

Abdul Kebabdal


soldiers freed by driving a tank through the prison wall

19.09.2005 20:38

Just heard on Radio 4 that they were freed by UK troops driving a tank through the prison wall. Sounds a bit of an extreme action on the part of soldiers who are supposedly there at the request of the Iraqi government.

No mention of this on the BBC web site yet though.

 http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4262336.stm

Simon


10pm update from radio 4

19.09.2005 21:28

Apparently the local Iraqi police have been infiltrated by Moqtada al Sadr and his supporters (about time for him to make a comeback).

MoD claiming that the UK soldiers were released through negotiation and the wall was accidentally knocked down afterwards.

Lots of confrontation before the alleged wall-demolishing incident, with UK tanks arriving, and at least one abandoned in the face of angry locals weilding incediary devices of some sort. 6 tanks involved in actually breaking into the prison according to Iraqi police sources.

Around 150 other prisoners escaped as a result of the wall being knocked down.

Nasty business. Time to bring our troops home, out of everyone's harm's way, I say.

Simon


SAS operation written all over it!

19.09.2005 23:13

So what were those plain clothes (in Basra for gods sake) soldiers doing shooting and killing Iraq policemen?

Sounds like an SAS (or similar so called elite squad) operation to stir up civil war tensions - tactics used and learnt in Northern Ireland. The army would only risk using tanks to rescue men it could not afford to talk.

How long has this sort of thing been going on??

Will one single Labour MP find his or her backbone and start asking some questions in parliament? We may have to wait fo george galloway to get back from the USA before this happens.

Make sure we are all on the STOP THWE WAR DEMO this Saturday in London.

Neil Williams

Neil Williams
- Homepage: http://fightbackuk.blogspot.com/


Views of this incident from over the Water

19.09.2005 23:17

Check out the report and comments on this incident on Indymedia Ireland.
It includes photos of the two British soldiers,taken whilst they were held in Iraqi Police custody. Their heads are bandaged, and they look well pissed off.
In the comments section it is alleged that when arrested these guys were in disguise and in pocesssion of explosives and had shot a police officer. Dodgy business.

 http://www.indymedia.ie/newswire.php?story_id=72067

oisin


Red-Handed, but surely you already knew this was happening!

19.09.2005 23:33

Today you have seen the direct face of British Terrorism, but if anyone thinks this incident anything special, they really haven't being paying attention!

Sure, you have seen two members of a British death squad, posing as insurgents, caught executing policemen, and planting bombs, but so what? Spend 5 seconds searching the net, and you'll find pictures of Israeli's caught passing themselves off as muslim terrorists, and even they were only copying the British from empire times past!

Blair's first act, after taking control of Iraq, was to dynamite the UN building, with the senior UN official still inside. Did the job, though, and kept the noses of the UN out of Iraq for the required period. Of course, no-one asked how the insurgents that got the blame magically forget their building demolition skills immediately afterwards. But then, we are so stupid as to believe whatever the BBC or The Sun or The Guardian (or whatever you poison is) tells us, aren't we?

The catching of Blair's death squad red-handed is somewhat reminisient of Putin's death squad being rumbled filling the basement of an apartment building full of explosives in Moscow. That story was reported world wide too, and didn't do Putin any harm whatsoever (if I remember rightly, the residents of the building saved still voted for Putin even knowing he would have killed them all). Of course, Putin's murderous plan was put into action after his LONG conversation with Blair, arranging the mock terrorism that would give Putin the excuse to launch his genocidal war with Chechnya, and how Blair would handle the human rights aftermath with the EEC to protect Russia from sanctions.

That mission was a complete success for Blair, and now Putin seems as firmly attached to power as Blair himself. Anyway, remember children, the British Terrorists in Iraq can technically commit NO CRIMES, for the UN, and the British government, and the so-called Iraq parliament give ALL FOREIGN FORCES (including mercenaries) operating within Iraq complete and total immunity for any crimes carried out there. Yes, British terrorists can rape without punishment, torture without punishment, and bomb and murder without punishment.

And for the dullards that point to so-called trials of British Soldiers- sorry,but they don't count- they represent the British Army imposing internal discipline, and have NOTHING do do with civilian courts or laws! Interestingly, whereas the army can choose to court marshall its own soldiers, mercenaries in Iraq are completely free of even this risk.

So when you watch those films of times past, with conquering armies doing whatever they like without fear of punishment, be warned, THOSE TIMES ARE NOW. Even Hitler did not protect his troops in foreign lands against rightful punishment the way Blair does today :( :( :(



twilight


False Flag Averted?

20.09.2005 05:56

If you study the media's coverage from the past few weeks, you'll see they have been a willing participant in this attempt to foment civil war. They'd switched from condemning the attacks of the "insurgents" (that would be the Iraqi Resistance, sadly legitimized by US/UK Aggression ...), to talking about the alleged ethnicity of the attackers identified by the same people who assured us that "Saddam has WMD!!!" ...

Today's developements were rather interesting, given reports of US/UK troops attempting to incite Civil War within the country, and reports from Iraqis of them carrying out False Flags to this end.

Two British "undercover" soldiers, dressed as Arabs, fire on the Iraqi police. Had they not been caught, the media would have been reporting on yet another "insurgent" bombing, worse, a Sunni attack on Shia, etc. (as is the current pattern) or at the very least, an "insurgent" attack on the police.

Then, rather than risk these operatives disclosing their intent through questioning by Iraqi police, the Brits break them out of jail with tanks, which Basra officials called "a barbaric act of aggression", inciting a riot which left two Iraqi civilians dead.

I sincerely hope the media will have the courage to follow up on the circumstances of the UK operation which would require soldiers to pose as Arabs, and drive a civilian truck filled with explosives through a crowded city.

In light of this new developement, I just wanted to include the letter I sent two days ago to two Canadian networks about this very issue. I have posted this on several websites throughout Canada, including the Independent Media Network, simply so that they cannot claim ignorance of the issue in the future.

I hope they will give this matter the attention it deserves, as responsible journalists would, but I'm not hgolding my breath.

Here is a copy of my last correspondence:

Dear Sir/Madam,

I realize that you've limited your news resources due to the lockout, but I've found your recent news coming out of Iraq rather disturbing, as I believe it paints a distorted picture of the situation, furthering the interests of those who started this illegal war.

What bothers me the most, as a fellow journalist, is that when you repeat the unsubstantiated allegations of the Bush Administration about al Zarqawi and "Al Qaeda", you no longer preface this with "the Bush Administration claims" or "US officials allege", which is the proper thing to do.

I thought that the exposure of some of the more serious LIES emanating from these people would have been enough to teach you that.

Regardless of who is responsible for the most recent attacks (all indications still suggest the Iraqi Resistance, what you now refer to as "the insurgency", for some still-unexplained reason, and many reports suggest the Occupiers themselves ...), it has long been known that the US/UK/Israel would try to foment Civil War within the country, pursuing that old Colonial Trick of Divide & Conquer.

Even leaked documents, which accompanied the Downing Street Minutes (the Documentary Evidence of the WMD Lies, which nobody is pursuing, unfortunately), such as

******* "Iraq: Options Paper", written by the UK Overseas & Defense Secretariat Cabinet Office, a full year before the war began, states directly that "'Divide & Rule' is easy", then details how existing ethnic tensions can be manipulated into such a conflict, thus taking the heat off of the foreign occupiers ******

, who violated International Law and the UN Charter in order to invade the country.

Perhaps if you plan to continue down this road, you could ask to see some actual evidence that this one-legged "Terrorist Mastermind" (and CIA asset, whose death in Afghanistan in 2002 the Bush Admin. claimed as a "victory in the War on Terror") is actually in Iraq, and if not, perhaps you can apply the standard "alleged" to these empty claims.

Considering the current state of the media, I would think you would be going above and beyond to protect your credibility and reputation.

Here is an article about this situation, both from Le Monde, and a BabelFish translation of the same. Perhaps you would consider pursuing the matter.

Sincerely,

Jordan Thornton

"Abou Moussab Al-Zarkaoui est mort. Son nom est utilisé par les occupants pour rester en Irak"
 http://www.lemonde.fr/web/article/0,1-0,36-689730, 0.html

"Abou Moussab Al-Zarkaoui died. Its name is used by the occupants to remain in Iraq "
 http://babelfish.altavista.com/babelfish/tr

-------------------------------------------------- -------------------------

Iraqi police detain two British soldiers in Basra
"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.

 http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2005-09/19/conte nt_3514065.htm

Two Britons held in Iraq for firing at police
 http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/newsArticle.aspx?t ype=topNews&storyID=2005-09-19T164541Z_01_YUE94652 9_RTRUKOC_0_UK-IRAQ-BRITONS.xml

UK soldiers 'storm' Basra prison
 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4262336.stm

British tanks smash Iraqi jail to free UK soldiers
 http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/newsArticle.aspx?t ype=topNews&storyID=2005-09-19T201444Z_01_YUE94652 9_RTRUKOC_0_UK-IRAQ-BRITONS.xml

UK TROOPS ON HIGH ALERT
 http://www.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,30100-134420 83,00.html

Meltdown in Basra
 http://www.antiwar.com/blog/index.php?id=P2377

This Is The Story


Well well well

20.09.2005 07:24

I really have to hand it to you guys. Within what seems like minutes of the news appearing on the news, while even the media are saying they don't know much, you all jump to definitive conclusions and "told you so" comments.

Now of course this all looks fishy. And it may well turn out to be so. But you're doing your credibility absolutely no good in your headlong rush to present it is some sort of definite porrf for whatever your own personal hobbyhorse happens to be.

Just as a matter of interest, why do we all seem to think that its in the Government's interest to run black flag terrorist operations in Iraq? They're desperate to get out as it is....

Big Bad Boab Fae Bathgate


John Reid says:

20.09.2005 07:35

"We remain committed to helping the Iraqi government for as long as they judge that a coalition presence is necessary to provide security."

So, when the 'sovereign' Iraqi government decides the troops are occupiers killing with impunity, and thus not 'necessary to provide security', its obviously the government in the wrong and it will have to be replaced with a new puppet. If anyone was in any doubt who calls the shots (literally), this incident clears things up a little, so next time you read "Iraqi forces supported by US troops have ..." read US troops + a few Peshmerga/Badr Brigade tagging along for the ride. End the Occupation(s).

Divde et Imper


Big Bad Boab Fae Bathgate

20.09.2005 23:14

I also notice that the tinfoil hat brigade are pretty quiet about the new 7/7 CCTV images hahahaha!

It'll take them a few days to concoct some sophistic way round this new development. I'd like to predict a few, but I don't want to be fuelling their nonsense.

Shapeshifter


cctv

21.09.2005 07:56

irrevelant hogwash to divert attention from the incompetent thugs in failed murder plot.
sorry boab.

d.d.


The tinfoil hat brigade says :

21.09.2005 12:59

I looked at the new "evidence".

1) The fact that 3 lads were (maybe) in Luton and London the 28 of June does not prove anything. Why not showing more 7/7 footage ?

2) Out of the 4 CCTV images from Luton 28 that appear on the BBC movie, there are two frame that cannot represent physical reality :

08 :10 :36 28/06/05  http://img359.imageshack.us/img359/1332/luton28039ee.png
08 :10 :37 28/06/05 http://img364.imageshack.us/img364/4641/luton28040vf.png

On each image look at the two character on the right and try to explain how the bloke without a baseball cap can have his feet largely in front of the the bloke with a baseball cap and. his torso largely behind. This is physically impossible.

Here is a link to download the BBC video : rtsp://rmv8.bbc.net.uk:554/news/media/avdb/news_web/video/9012da6800275c0/bb/09012da68002790d_16x9_bb.rm

You can't download with a browser as it doesn't support rtsp protocol but you can use Net Transport for doing so and that you can download here (last freeware version) :  http://www.321download.com/LastFreeware/page9.html#Net%20Transport

I have also resized and cropped the Luton pic of 7/7 and the 08:10:36 one of June 28 as to make make them exactly correspond. Here is a small gif animation :  http://img359.imageshack.us/img359/5195/lutonmix29wy.gif

You can easily see that on the 7/7 pic the lad that's behind with a white baseball cap has the legs missing.

Cheers.

gaz


gaz

21.09.2005 19:17

Get your eyes tested! That guy is quite clearly 100% in front of Mr Baseball cap... here's a clue. Mr Baseball cap doesn't have a 36" collar bone, bone Mr No Hat is holding a bag strap. As for missing legs= get real!

Keep em coming. It's funnier than The Bobby Davro Christmas Special.

Shapeshifter


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