Pic of the Day

[mouhajir]

[-thetruth_]

http://www.newsoftheworld.co.uk/stor...ws/news1.shtml

[aswad]

Is a shame what happened.
I saw it yestrday in TV.

England this is not good

[razrif]

AN ABSOLUTE DISGRACE!

[Anisa]

ABSOLUTELY DISGRACEFUL!

[brim]

all those telly aerials?

[razrif]

Man held over British troops 'abuse' video

Staff writers
Monday February 13, 2006

Royal Military Police have arrested a man in connection with video footage of British troops allegedly abusing Iraqi civilians, the Ministry of Defence confirmed today.

He was detained at 8.18pm last night, but officials refused to say where or confirm whether the man was a serving soldier.

An MoD spokesman said: "The RMP investigation into these extremely serious allegations is at very early stage. We can confirm that an arrest has been made in conjunction with this investigation."

He said the RMP would continue gathering evidence before deciding whether to bring the person before a court martial.

Earlier, the Iraqi government today expressed its "deepest concern" over a video that apparently showed British troops attacking defenceless teenagers in Basra.

A spokesman for the prime minister, Ibrahim Jaafari, urged Tony Blair to bring those "responsible to justice immediately" after footage showing the brutal beating by at least eight soldiers was shown across the Arab world.

"Mr Jaafari expresses his deepest concern at the horrific scenes of violence that took place," Bashar al-Naher, the British-based spokesman for the Mr Jaafari, said. "The prime minister urges Tony Blair and the highest levels of the Ministry of Defence to bring those responsible to justice immediately and institute even more stringent measures to monitoring and assessing and make sure such incidents that are so tragic never happen again."

Speaking on the BBC's Today programme, Mr al-Naher said the Iraqi prime minister was grateful to the British government and armed forces for doing "an excellent job" in keeping the peace after Saddam Hussein. But he reiterated that the chief battle was for the "hearts and minds" of Iraqis.

Colonel Tim Collins, a veteran of the conflict, told the programme that Iraqis were right to feel disappointed when the British army failed to keep the very high standards expected of it. He said he strongly believed a more senior officer had been complicit in the beatings by leaving the soldiers unsupervised.

"Someone chose not to step in and deal with that situation who would have seen it and they are clearly not fit to hold that rank," he said. "An officer or senior NCO [non-commissioned officer] more likely, who's either been in this or has failed in his duty because he has failed to deal with it."

He said such incidents were isolated and that British forces were unique in the region by dealing with "petrol bombers and grenade throwers" using plastic shields and batons rather than "lethal force".

The video, taken in early 2004 and obtained by the News of the World, apparently was filmed from a rooftop for fun by a corporal who is heard laughing and urging on his colleagues. It shows the troops repeatedly kicking and punching civilians with batons after seizing them following riots two years ago in the Basra region in which British forces were attacked.

The cameraman is heard laughing and saying: "Oh yes! Oh yes! You're gonna get it. Yes, naughty little boys. You little ****ers, you little ****ers. Die. Ha Ha." Soldiers are shown beating the Iraqis, with one apparently kicking a young man in the genitals as he lay on the ground. A young Iraqi is apparently head-butted by a helmeted soldier and hit in the kidneys. The Iraqi cries: "No, please," as the commentator says in a mocking, childlike, voice: "No, please, don't hurt me." The video also apparently shows an Iraqi corpse being kicked, and, as the man's head is held up to the camera, a soldier s******s: "He's been a bad mother****er."

A military spokesman in Basra, Flight Lieutenant Chris Thomas, yesterday reacted to the release of the tape by condemning "all acts of abuse and brutality" by British troops. "We hope that the good relations that the multinational forces have worked very hard to develop won't be adversely affected by this material." He added that the allegations related "to only a tiny number of the 80,000 personnel that have served in Iraq".