They Love Us, Really
More news out of Basra. First up, a wild story about a daring rescue from The Washington Post. Unfortunately, our guys were being rescued from the Iraqi police, rather than by them:
British armored vehicles backed by helicopter gunships burst through the walls of an Iraqi jail Monday in the southern city of Basra to free two British commandos detained earlier in the day by Iraqi police, witnesses and Iraqi officials said…
Iraqi security officials on Monday variously accused the two Britons they detained of shooting at Iraqi forces or trying to plant explosives. Photographs of the two men in custody showed them in civilian clothes.
When British officials apparently sought to secure their release, riots erupted. Iraqi police cars circulated downtown, calling through loudspeakers for the public to help stop British forces from releasing the two. Heavy gunfire broke out and fighting raged for hours, as crowds swarmed British forces and set at least one armored vehicle on fire.
Read “British Smash Into Iraqi Jail To Free 2 Detained Soldiers”
The Washington Post
September 20, 2005
The Times of London goes on to report that by the time British troops invaded the jail, the police had already handed the two men over to one of the local militias (but don’t let anyone say that the police are in cahoots with the militias, there’s absolutely no proof of that):
British troops who stormed a Basra jail with armoured carriers to rescue two commandos discovered that the pair had already been handed over to local militia, the Ministry of Defence said today.
Officers searched the jail in the southern Iraqi city from “top to bottom” before forcing guards to disclose the whereabouts of the men at gunpoint…
The British men had been handed over to a local Shia Muslim militia, apparently to use as hostages to force the release of two militia leaders. They were tracked down to a nearby house and rescued by UK forces in a follow-up operation.
Read “Undercover troops were held at militia house in Basra”
The Times, London
September 20, 2005
And finally, another journalist working for The New York Times probing Basra police connections to the miltias was taken from his house and shot:
Fakher Haider, a 38-year-old Shia Muslim reporter covering Basra for The New York Times, was found dead with his hands bound and a bag over his head in a deserted area on the city’s outskirts yesterday morning…
Shortly after midnight, two cars - one unmarked, the other a police car - were driven up to his apartment building. Three men, carrying AK-47 assault rifles, ransacked the flat removing mobile phones and videotapes.
Haider, a father with three children aged 5, 7and 9, told his wife not to worry as he was led outside and bundled into one of the waiting vehicles.
Hours later, she was called to identify his body at the city morgue. He appeared to have been shot more than once in the head. His back was bruised, suggesting he had been beaten…
Many of Haider’s most recent photographs, showing British military vehicles targeted in Basra, had been published on the ironically-titled They love us, really website which highlights the difficult relationship between locals and the coalition forces.
Read “Second journalist probing Basra police killed”
The Times, London
September 20, 2005
So remember: Basra, shining jewel of the Iraqi resurgence!
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