The rubble that was once the Hamoodis'
home |
A
Manchester-based Iraqi family is launching legal action against the
Ministry of Defence for the deaths of 10 relatives in the recent war.
It is understood the Hamoodis will be making legal history, as it is
the first time the UK Government has faced a civil claim for unlawful
killing.
It is also believed to be the first time any civilians have taken
action against the government for its role in a war.
Three generations of the family died on 5 April, when coalition forces
accidentally destroyed their home in Basra, southern Iraq.
The troops had been hunting Saddam Hussein's cousin, Ali Hasan Majid,
known as Chemical Ali, who was living in a house nearby.
The MoD said it would contest the claim and was confident its troops
acted "legally and properly".
'Dead inside'
Mazin Hamoodi, who left the family's Iraqi home 27 years ago and now
lives in Manchester, decided to take the action after returning to see the
devastation for himself.
The businessman, whose brothers Sudad and Anam also live in the UK,
told BBC News he first learned of the attack while watching Arab
television station al-Jazeera.
Mazin Hamoodi lost 10 members of his
family |
He said: "I found out in the news that my family had gone... I am still
feeling it now. I feel dead inside, to be honest."
In the weeks after the tragedy Mazin Hamoodi wrote letters to the White
House and Number 10, but he has not received the response he wants.
Family lawyer Imran Khan said the action could lead to some redress for
the family, as well as being a test of the legality of the Iraq conflict.
He said: "If the intelligence which resulted in the deaths of these 10
people was 'bad'... and effectively the authorities went ahead and bombed
this family... that would suggest to me overall that the war was illegal
because it was based on some misconstrued assumptions."
In a statement issued to BBC News, the MoD said: "We are confident that
our armed forces acted legally and properly on this occasion, and we will
defend robustly any action arising from loss caused by the conflict."
'Sadness and sorrow'
Last week a survivor of the attack, 72-year-old Abid Hassan Hamoodi,
told BBC News Online that while the coalition had done well to remove
Saddam Hussein, what had happened to his family was inexcusable.
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 We will defend robustly any action arising
from loss caused by the conflict 
|
He said: "I will
never forget my family for a second. We were all living here in my house
and now I am left by myself. Alone.
"They are of my blood. My wife, my daughter, who was a doctor, my son,
a computer engineer and my grandchildren. They have all gone.
"I am now living on my memories. But I will never forget them. How
could I do that?
"There is sadness and sorrow throughout our days and nights, for
something which shouldn't have happened."
