Post by SAS P&P Admin on Oct 18, 2005 10:25:43 GMT -5
Source: www.mirror.co.uk/news/tm_objectid=16150781&method=full&siteid=94762&headline=sas-sprung-from-jail-by-tanks-name_page.html
SAS SPRUNG FROM JAIL BY TANKS
British troops storm Iraqi prison... hours after hate mob sets soldiers ablaze
TEN British tanks smashed down the walls of an Iraqi jail last night to free two SAS men.
Around 150 Iraqi prisoners also fled in the rescue, which was backed by helicopters.
The undercover SAS soldiers were arrested in a shoot-out with police in Basra.
IN FLAMES: Brit soldier flees
A mob then attacked the Army with petrol bombs, setting armoured vehicles ablaze and sending the crew - some engulfed in flames - fleeing for their lives. Three British soldiers were hurt in the violence, none seriously.
Basra's Iraqi governor called the rescue a "barbaric act of aggression."
________________
THE dramatic rescue of two SAS men followed a day of violence in the Iraqi city of Basra sparked by their arrest.
Ten tanks, backed up by helicopters, smashed down the walls of the jail to free the men held after a shootout with police.
The drama in Basra erupted when the two soldiers on an undercover mission - like the SAS heroes of Andy McNab's book Bravo Two Zero - opened fire on a police patrol who approached.
Officers were suspicious of the men wearing Arab headgear and driving an old white saloon car with local number plates.
One policeman was reported killed and up to three others wounded before the soldiers stopped firing and were arrested.
An angry mob gathered outside the central jail where they were held as the news spread. When a British Army convoy arrived, they pelted the vehicles with petrol bombs, a burning tyre and a hail of rocks and bottles.
A Warrior fighting vehicle and another armoured vehicle were set ablaze.
The crew were forced to open the hatches and flee, dodging blows and rocks thrown by the mob as they jumped. Two soldiers were engulfed in flames as they fled. A third was beaten savagely as he hit the ground.
Two civilians were shot dead, 15 were injured and three soldiers hurt as troops and gunmen exchanged fire.
Later, the two arrested men were pictured sitting bound and bloodstained on the floor with their hands tied behind their backs. One had a bandaged head. The other, who apparently had blood smeared on his trousers, had plasters on his head.
But as officials began negotiations for their release, more British armoured vehicles surrounded the building - and the rescue was under way. About 150 prisoners held in the jail also escaped during the chaos.
Defence Secretary John Reid said: "I can confirm that the two British service personnel detained by the Iraqi Police Service have been released and are back with British forces.
"I am pleased to say that the British servicemen who were seen being injured in the graphic photographs are being treated for minor injuries only."
But he said of the violence: "It is not possible to be certain why these disturbances began. Many of those present were clearly prepared well in advance to cause trouble."
Earlier, a senior Iraqi official said: "The men were driving a civilian car and were dressed in civilian clothes when a shooting took place between them and Iraqi patrols. We are investigating and an Iraqi judge is on the case questioning them."
Mohammed al-Abadi, an official in the Basra governorate, said: "A policeman approached them and then one of these guys fired at him.
"The police managed to capture them. They refused to say what their mission was. They said they were British soldiers and to ask their commander about their mission."
Mohammed al-Waili, the governor of Basra, described the operation to free the men as a "barbaric, savage and irresponsible" act.
Liberal Democrat spokesman Sir Menzies Campbell said it would fuel the insurgency.
He said: "It is hard to see how relations between the military and the civilian authorities will ever be the same again.
"This is bound to be seen as a humiliation by many Iraqis - something the insurgents will use to their advantage."
SAS SPRUNG FROM JAIL BY TANKS
British troops storm Iraqi prison... hours after hate mob sets soldiers ablaze
TEN British tanks smashed down the walls of an Iraqi jail last night to free two SAS men.
Around 150 Iraqi prisoners also fled in the rescue, which was backed by helicopters.
The undercover SAS soldiers were arrested in a shoot-out with police in Basra.
IN FLAMES: Brit soldier flees
A mob then attacked the Army with petrol bombs, setting armoured vehicles ablaze and sending the crew - some engulfed in flames - fleeing for their lives. Three British soldiers were hurt in the violence, none seriously.
Basra's Iraqi governor called the rescue a "barbaric act of aggression."
________________
THE dramatic rescue of two SAS men followed a day of violence in the Iraqi city of Basra sparked by their arrest.
Ten tanks, backed up by helicopters, smashed down the walls of the jail to free the men held after a shootout with police.
The drama in Basra erupted when the two soldiers on an undercover mission - like the SAS heroes of Andy McNab's book Bravo Two Zero - opened fire on a police patrol who approached.
Officers were suspicious of the men wearing Arab headgear and driving an old white saloon car with local number plates.
One policeman was reported killed and up to three others wounded before the soldiers stopped firing and were arrested.
An angry mob gathered outside the central jail where they were held as the news spread. When a British Army convoy arrived, they pelted the vehicles with petrol bombs, a burning tyre and a hail of rocks and bottles.
A Warrior fighting vehicle and another armoured vehicle were set ablaze.
The crew were forced to open the hatches and flee, dodging blows and rocks thrown by the mob as they jumped. Two soldiers were engulfed in flames as they fled. A third was beaten savagely as he hit the ground.
Two civilians were shot dead, 15 were injured and three soldiers hurt as troops and gunmen exchanged fire.
Later, the two arrested men were pictured sitting bound and bloodstained on the floor with their hands tied behind their backs. One had a bandaged head. The other, who apparently had blood smeared on his trousers, had plasters on his head.
But as officials began negotiations for their release, more British armoured vehicles surrounded the building - and the rescue was under way. About 150 prisoners held in the jail also escaped during the chaos.
Defence Secretary John Reid said: "I can confirm that the two British service personnel detained by the Iraqi Police Service have been released and are back with British forces.
"I am pleased to say that the British servicemen who were seen being injured in the graphic photographs are being treated for minor injuries only."
But he said of the violence: "It is not possible to be certain why these disturbances began. Many of those present were clearly prepared well in advance to cause trouble."
Earlier, a senior Iraqi official said: "The men were driving a civilian car and were dressed in civilian clothes when a shooting took place between them and Iraqi patrols. We are investigating and an Iraqi judge is on the case questioning them."
Mohammed al-Abadi, an official in the Basra governorate, said: "A policeman approached them and then one of these guys fired at him.
"The police managed to capture them. They refused to say what their mission was. They said they were British soldiers and to ask their commander about their mission."
Mohammed al-Waili, the governor of Basra, described the operation to free the men as a "barbaric, savage and irresponsible" act.
Liberal Democrat spokesman Sir Menzies Campbell said it would fuel the insurgency.
He said: "It is hard to see how relations between the military and the civilian authorities will ever be the same again.
"This is bound to be seen as a humiliation by many Iraqis - something the insurgents will use to their advantage."