Iraq denounces British rescue in Basra: Why did undercover agents have anti-tank missle?

by Alaa Habib

Iraq denounced British forces on Tuesday over a dramatic rescue of two undercover soldiers that could stoke hostility to the army in increasingly volatile southern Iraq.

British troops used an armored fighting vehicle on Monday to burst into an Iraqi jail in search of soldiers held by police in Basra. The British commander said he learned they had been handed to militia and ordered their rescue from a nearby house.

"It is a very unfortunate development that the British forces should try to release their forces the way it happened," Haider al-Ebadi, an adviser to Prime Minister Ibrahim Jaafari, told a news conference in Baghdad.

The operation followed rioting that began, according to police and local officials, when the two men fired on a police patrol. At least two Iraqis were killed in the violence.

Southern Iraq is home to several Shi’ite militias, including one loyal to radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, who fiercely opposes the presence of foreign troops and has led uprisings against the U.S. military.

Iraqis say the heavily-armed militias act with impunity and are not answerable to the central government.

Tensions in Basra had risen on Sunday when British forces arrested two leading members of Sadr’s Mehdi Army militia.

The tough British response will further strain ties between Iraqis and British troops, who had maintained relatively good relations with the Shi’ite population of Basra by pursuing a low-profile security policy, unlike their U.S. allies elsewhere.

Iraqi television on Tuesday showed footage of the two soldiers, unshaven and looking nervous as Iraqi police looked over wigs, Arab headresses, an anti-tank missile and communications equipment, all apparently used in their mission.

The images of the pair seemed sure to fuel suspicions by militias in Basra and elsewhere who believe foreign troops are on a secret mission to exploit Iraq.

Unrest in the Shi’ite south, home to Iraq’s biggest oil reserves, would pile pressure on the Iraqi government, which is already fighting a Sunni Arab insurgency further north.

"It is unappropriate for any Iraqi to be insulted by a British or an American or any other occupier, we reject the occupying forces," said Abbas Jassim.

"The British violated the government, police and the sons of this country, which we all reject."

British forces said the soldiers were in danger.

"From an early stage I had good reason to believe the lives of the two soldiers were at risk," Brigadier John Lorimer, the British commander in Basra, said in a statement.

SUSPICIOUS Behavior

Ebadi said Iraqi security forces were justified in detaining the pair.

"They were acting very suspiciously like they were watching something and collecting information in civilian clothes in these tense times," he said.

The raid could boost the popularity of Shi’ite cleric Sadr, who can mobilize thousands of supporters quickly.

"What the two Britons did was literally international terrorism," Ali al-Yassiri, an aide to Sadr, told Reuters.

"If the British had condemned this, it would have calmed the situation but instead they came and demanded them back which sets a dangerous precedent."

Britain, which has 8,500 troops in Iraq, said on Sunday it would send more if necessary. British soldiers have not drawn as much fury as their U.S. allies, but Iraqi police vented their anger in Basra as they inspected damage from the British raid.

"Four tanks invaded the area. A tank cannon struck a room where a policeman was praying," said policeman Abbas Hassan, standing next to mangled cars outside the police station and jail that he said were crushed by British military vehicles.

"This is terrorism. All we had was rifles."

British Defense Secretary John Reid said the two soldiers were freed when negotiations appeared blocked.

"In the course of the day we became increasingly worried that those people in there to negotiate with the police seemed to be having no success in getting our men out.

Reid said it was not clear whether the Iraqi police were under threat themselves or colluding with local militia.

Lorimer said troops had been sent to the police station where the two men had been detained to help ensure their safety.

"As shown on television, these troops were attacked with firebombs and rockets by a violent and determined crowd."

Violence continued in the area controlled by U.S. forces.

Four U.S. soldiers were killed by roadside bombs, the U.S. military said on Tuesday, bringing the number of American soldiers killed since the March 2003 invasion of Iraq to 1,906. BASRA, Iraq (Reuters)

(Additional reporting by Matthew Jones in London and Mussab al-Khairalla)

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