Two British undercover soldiers were arrested in by Iraqi authorities in Basra today after exchanging gunfire with Iraqi police and killing one, officials said.The arrests prompted British troops to send a military patrol to the police station where the soldiers are being held which then led to a riot, during which two British tanks were set on fire, according to witnesses.
An Iraqi official told the Reuters news agency that the two British soldiers, who were travelling in a civilian car, were detained this morning. The official said he had been informed by the British military that they were undercover soldiers. "They were driving a civilian car and were dressed in civilian clothes when a shooting took place between them and Iraqi patrols," he said. "We are investigating and an Iraqi judge is on the case questioning them." A Basra police source said the two men, who he said were wearing Arab costume, had opened fired at a police patrol when they were asked to stop. Photographs of the British soldiers showed them with light beards. One of them was wearing bandage around his head. A spokesman for the Ministry of Defence confirmed that two British soldiers were in Iraqi custody but said he was unsure of the circumstances of their arrest. "We are urgently liaising with the Iraqis to find out what is happening," said the spokesman, who declined to comment on reports of the events that followed the arrests. Ismail al-Waili, head of Basra’s Security Committee, told the Associated Press that once news of the gun battle spread, British soldiers surrounded the building where men are being held and a crowd quickly gathered.
Reports and television pictures showed the crowd pelting the British vehicles with stones and setting two tanks on fire. Soldiers could be seen scrambling out of the tanks.
itv adds:
The tank is seen coming under attack, apparently from petrol bombs.
A crowd gathers around the tank as it tries to reverse away from trouble.
Within moments the top of the tank was ablaze, although it was not clear if the vehicle itself was on fire or if the flames came from materials burning on top of the tank.
One soldier climbed out of the tank’s hatch and jumped clear of it, as the crowd pelted him with stones.
AWC reader DB sends in this additional Reuters photo from Yahoo:
