[Ugnet] UK soldiers 'storm' Basra prison

[Mitayo Potosi]

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UK soldiers 'storm' Basra prison

Some soldiers were forced to flee after their tanks caught fire Enlarge Image British forces have rescued two UK servicemen who were arrested by Iraqi police in the southern city of Basra. Official Iraqi sources say British tanks stormed the city's jail, but the Ministry of Defence says the men's release was negotiated. Basra governor Mohammed al-Waili said it was a "barbaric act of aggression". The arrests sparked clashes in which UK tanks came under attack. Two civilians were reportedly killed and three UK soldiers were injured. MoD officials insist they have been talking to the Iraqi authorities to secure the release of the men - who were reported to be working undercover. British servicemen who were seen being injured in the graphic photographs are being treated for minor injuries only Defence Secretary John Reid What effect will unrest have? But they do acknowledge a wall was demolished as UK forces tried to "collect" the men Iraqi police accused of firing on them. However, sources in the Iraqi Interior Ministry say six tanks were used to smash down the wall in a daring rescue operation. Witnesses told the Associated Press around 150 prisoners escaped during the operation but Iraqi officials later denied any prisoners had escaped. Earlier, two British tanks, sent to the police station where the soldiers were being held, were set alight in clashes. British officials would not say if the two men were working undercover Crowds of angry protesters hurled petrol bombs and stones injuring three servicemen and several civilians. TV pictures showed soldiers in combat gear, clambering from one of the flaming tanks and making their escape. In a statement, Defence Secretary John Reid said the soldiers who fled from the tanks were being treated for minor injuries. Mr Reid added that he was not certain what had caused the disturbances. "We remain committed to helping the Iraqi government for as long as they judge that a coalition presence is necessary to provide security," the statement said. Law and order Tensions have been running high in the city since the arrest of a senior figure in the Shia Mehdi Army by UK troops. But Colonel Tim Collins, the former commander of British troops in Iraq, described the Basra unrest as like a "busy night in Belfast". Col Collins said it did not represent a breakdown of law and order in Basra, which was still a safer city than Baghdad. In other developments: Nine Iraqi police and a civilian have died in suicide bombings between Baghdad and Karbala, where Shias are attending a major religious festival The Iraqi government says a nephew of Saddam Hussein, Ayman Sabawi, has been sentenced to life in prison for funding Iraq's insurgency An Iraqi reporter working for the New York Times, Fakher Haider, has been found dead in Basra Iraq's Finance Minister, Ali Allawi, tells the UK's Independent newspaper that large-scale corruption in Iraq's ministries, particularly the defence ministry, has led to the theft of more than $1bn.

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