Troops accused on Iraq killings

[NNN0LHI]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,3604,1153027,00.html

MoD faces lawsuits over deaths of 18 civilians

Richard Norton-Taylor
Saturday February 21, 2004
The Guardian

The Ministry of Defence is facing the prospect of a string of lawsuits over the deaths of at least 18 Iraqi civilians allegedly killed by British soldiers, the Guardian can reveal.

The incidents, hitherto unreported, are separate from the suspicious deaths of seven Iraqis who were being held by British troops in the notorious Camp Bucca detention centre near the port of Umm Qasr, south of Basra.

The threat of legal action comes as the conduct of British troops serving in southern Iraq is under intense scrutiny, with MPs and human rights lawyers demanding independent inquiries into the deaths at the prison camp as well as civilian fatalities in and around Basra.

The new disclosures relate to incidents in which Iraqis have died when they were fired on by mistake or were innocent bystanders to operations allegedly being conducted by British troops.

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[xchrom]

1. that ''unreported'' bit speaks volumes

if this was a real war of liberation -- with all parties concerned happy to see the ''occupation'' -- this ''unreported'' killing bullshit wouldn't be happening.

[JoFerret]

2. Quite a big story in the UK

apparently.