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British soldiers free two from Iraq jail
(AP)
Updated: 2005-09-20 10:38
British armored vehicles broke down the walls of the central jail in
the southern Iraqi city of Basra Monday and freed two British soldiers,
allegedly undercover commandos arrested for shooting two Iraqi policemen,
witnesses said. But London said the two men were released as a result of
negotiations, AP reported.
The different versions of events came on a chaotic day that raised questions
about how much sovereignty Iraqi authorities really were granted when the
U.S.-led Coalition Provision Authority handed over power to an interim Iraqi
government in the summer of 2004.
The arrests of the two British soldiers Monday appeared to have been the
first real and public test of how far that sovereignty extends. There have been
no known incidents of Iraqi authorities arresting U.S. soldiers operating in the
Iraqi heartland.
Mohammed al-Waili, the governor of Basra province, condemned the British for
raiding the prison, an act he called "barbaric, savage and irresponsible"
"A British force of more than 10 tanks backed by helicopters attacked the
central jail and destroyed it. This is an irresponsible act," al-Waili said,
adding that the British force had spirited the prisoners away to an unknown
location.
A British soldier jumps from a burning tank
which was set ablaze after a shooting incident in the southern Iraqi city
of Basra September 19, 2005. [Reuters] | Aquil
Jabbar, an Iraqi television cameraman who lives across the street from the Basra
jail, said about 150 Iraqi prisoners fled as British commandos stormed inside
and rescued their comrades.
Late Monday, the Ministry of Defense in London said the
two British soldiers were freed after negotiations. A spokesman said he had no
information suggesting they were freed as a result of overt military action, but
stopped short of denying reports that British armor crashed through the walls of
the jail.
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