Author: Robert Fox in Basra and
Valentine Low, Evening Standard
Publication: This is London
Date: June 25, 2003
URL: http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/articles/5466578?source=Evening%20Standard
Three of the six British soldiers
killed in Iraq were executed after surrendering their weapons, it was claimed
today.
The Royal Military Police officers,
a sergeant and five corporals, were shot dead after trying to quell a demonstration
of Shi'ite Muslims in the town of Majar al Kabir yesterday.
The account of a local man, who
tried to save the life of the sergeant in charge of the patrol, backs up
Lieutenant Colonel Ronnie McCourt who said today: "This attack was unprovoked.
It was murder."
Two of the men died when shooting
broke out as the military policemen faced a large crowd of Iraqis angry
at the way searches were being conducted by British troops.
The other four were pursued to the
local police station where a third soldier was killed in the doorway. The
remaining three battled it out with Iraqi gunmen for two hours before giving
up their weapons. Then, according to Salam Al Wahele, the men were shot
at least twice each in the head. Mr Al Wahele, 30, said: "They had surrendered
and had given their weapons to the militiamen. I led a sergeant to a side
room and said he could escape by a window but he said he did not want to
go and leave the other men behind.
"He left me there and went back
to the room where all the men were shot. They may have been killed by their
own weapons I think, or AK-47s."
Iraqis claimed the "Red Caps" were
attacked after firing into crowds at Majar al Kabir, 90 miles north of
Basra.
But British forces today denied
they had provoked the attack and gave local leaders 48 hours to hand over
the Iraqi men responsible.
The troops, who were part of 156
Provost Company, attached to 16 Air Assault Brigade in Colchester, were
named as:
Sergeant Simon Alexander Hamilton-Jewell,
from Chessington. He was 41 and single.
Corporal Russell Aston, 30, from
Swadlincote, Derbyshire, married with a daughter. Corporal Paul Graham
Long, 24, from Colchester, married. Corporal Simon Miller, 21, Tyne and
Wear, single.
Lance Corporal Benjamin John McGowan
Hyde, 23, Northallerton, North Yorkshire, single. Lance Corporal Thomas
Richard Keys, 20, from Bala, North Wales.
The wife of Corporal Aston was being
comforted by relatives. Anna Aston said of the dead soldiers: "They were
there to do a job."
The men were faced with thousands
of angry demonstrators at Majar al Kabir.
Witnesses said the violence came
after days of tension because of methods used to search civilians for weapons,
including the use of sniffer dogs.
"These British soldiers came with
their dogs and pointed weapons at women and children," said one Iraqi.
"As Muslims, we can't accept dogs at our homes."
The first two of the military policemen
were killed on the spot outside the mayor's office in the market place.
The mob then chased the four other
members of the patrol to the nearby police station.
There were reports that two dozen
Iraqi policemen at the station asked the military policemen to flee with
them but the British insisted on staying.
The bodies of the men were recovered
at noon today. At least
four Iraqis were reported to have
been killed and 18 injured. Senior British officers were today meeting
members of Majar al Kabir's council in the nearby city of Amarah to demand
the surrender of the Iraqi gunmen responsible.
The soldiers were in the area to
train a local Iraqi police force.
Major Bryn Parry-Jones, commanding
officer of 156 Provost Company, said: "The loss of six soldiers from such
a small, tight-knit unit clearly comes as a dreadful shock.
"We ask our men and women to risk
the ultimate sacrifice in the service of their country, and it is the sad
truth that sometimes that sacrifice comes to pass." Tony Blair, in a hushed
and sombre Commons, voiced sympathy for the families and praised the military
policemen who had been "doing an extraordinary and heroic job in trying
to bring normal and decent life to people in Iraq".
Downing Street declined to be drawn
into the claims and counter claims about the tragedy at Majar al Kabir.
Downing Street said, however, that
it "did not recognise the picture of events" being painted by those claiming
that aggressive house-to- house searches had set off the violence. Security
measures to protect troops in Iraq were being stepped up this afternoon.
Up until now British troops had
discarded helmets and flak jackets in an attempt to win the "hearts and
minds" of the Iraqis.
Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon hinted
that up to 5,000 more troops might be sent in. Mr Hoon insisted that the
peace-keeping operation in Iraq had not got out of control.
He said: "We have had remarkable
success across southern Iraq. We have not had this kind of incident before."
At the Royal Military Police headquarters
in Chichester, West Sussex, flags flew at half- mast this afternoon. Soldiers
formed a queue to sign a book of condolence.
Two officers emerged from the barracks
to lay three wreaths of flowers next to a flower bed near the entrance
of the base.
One wreath bore the regiment's motto
"Exemplo Ducemus" which means "By Example We Lead."
Colonel John Baber, regimental secretary
of the Royal Military Police Association, said: "This is without doubt
the blackest day in the history of our long and distinguished regiment.
"The RMP is only a very small regiment
of 2,000 soldiers scattered throughout the world so these deaths have hit
us very hard indeed. Our thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends
of the dead and with our brothers in arms overseas.
"The families of our brave colleagues
will have every support we can give them at this terrible time."
The Iraqi National Congress also
condemned the attacks on the British troops.
Dr Ahmad Chalabi insisted that the
"overwhelming" majority of Iraqi people remained grateful to the coalition
for removing Saddam Hussein and the Ba'athist regime.
He said: "We denounce the horrific
attacks on British forces and give our deepest sympathies to the families
of those soldiers who have died giving hope to a nation that has suffered
for so long.
"We strongly urge the occupation
authorities to move quickly to empower an Iraqi provisional government
in order to fill the political vacuum."
