British actions spark protests in Basra

ABOUT 500 civilians and policemen, some waving pistols and AK-47s, rallied yesterday in the southern city of Basra and denounced “British aggression” following London’s decision to use force to free two of its soldiers being held by Iraqi police.

Attacks by insurgents continued in and around Baghdad, with a roadside bomb wounding two US soldiers.

The blast came a day after the death toll for US forces in Iraq rose to more than 1,900.

The demonstrators in Basra shouted “No to occupation!” and carried banners condemning “British aggression” and demanding the freed soldiers be tried in an Iraqi court as “terrorists”.

Some of the protesters met with the Basra police chief, Gen Hassan Sawadi, to demand a British apology, said police spokesman Col Karim al-Zaidi. Heavily armed soldiers and police watched the protest but didn’t intervene. Al-Zaidi said the demonstration was arranged by some policemen, not by the force or its commander.

Clashes between British forces and Iraqi police have killed five civilians, including two who died of their injuries in a hospital yesterday, authorities said.

The fighting occurred Monday night when British forces used armoured vehicles to storm a Basra jail and free their two soldiers who had been arrested by police. During the raid, British forces learned that Shiite Muslim militiamen and police had moved the men to a nearby house.

The British then stormed that house and rescued them.

Interior Minister Bayan Jabr disputed the British account.

He told the BBC the two soldiers never left police custody or the jail, were not handed to militants, and that the British army acted on a “rumour” when it stormed the jail.

Britain defended its action, saying the men were first stopped by plainclothes gunmen, then moved by militiamen from a jail to a private home while British officials tried to negotiate their release with Iraqi officials.