Is This British Citizen Arrested in Basra a Mercenary?

[leftchick]

He seems to have the merc clothing on. Also I have not seen any news articles about this. The Military always trys to keep the unseemly mercenary doings hush hush. God only knows what is really going on in Iraq these days.



A British citizen detained by Iraqi police sits in a police lockup in the southern Iraq city of Basra September 19, 2005. (Atef Hassan/Reuters)

on edit: well here is another one...



A British citizen detained by Iraqi police sits in a police lockup in the southern Iraq city of Basra September 19, 2005. (Atef Hassan/Reuters)

[RaleighNCDUer]

1. Can anyone here blow up the logo on his shirt, see what it says? nt

[Richard Steele]

3. Sorry, but there's not enough resolution in the photo.

That shirt logo is just a blob of pixels
when I enlarge it.

[petronius]

11. It looks like the logo for 'Under Armor'

They are an athletic clothing company, making synthetic wicking undershirts, etc.

[Henny Penny]

2. Do you have any more details?? Why were they detained by

Iraqi police? Who are they?

[FloridaPat]

4. Mercenaries are technically someone who gets paid to go to war

for a country not theirs in a country not theirs or their employers country. Which makes Iraq a bigger mess because these "mercs" aren't covered by any treaty or law. Been a long time since kings and presidents had to have their own private army.

[maddezmom]

5. BBC mentions British Military working undercover????

A senior Iraqi official told Reuters news agency the British military had told him they were undercover soldiers in civilian clothes.

The MoD could not confirm reports the pair - both military personnel - were working undercover, adding the reason for their arrest was not yet known.

After the arrests there was a clash between British soldiers and protesters in Basra, AFP news agency reported.

Burning tanks

The agency said demonstrators threw stones at the troops, who responded by firing warning shots.

`snip~
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4260894.stm

sounds odd to me

ITV just reported the same :shrug:

[Henny Penny]

8. Are these the same guys arrested for firing on Iraqi police???

Very odd indeed...

I read this story on the bbc front page not 20 mins ago where it said they were arreseted for firing on police... Now it says...

"it is thought the men - who were reportedly undercover - are accused of failing to stop at an Iraqi checkpoint."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4260894.stm

[Henny Penny]

9. Sky is still going with the shooting allegations...

"SERVICEMEN HELD IN IRAQ
Two British servicemen have been arrested in Iraq amid allegations they fired on police in Basra.

A senior Iraqi official said British military sources had told him the men were undercover soldiers in civilian clothes.

The official said: "They were driving a civilian car and were dressed in civilian clothes when a shooting took place between them and Iraqi patrols."
http://www.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,30000-1196214,00.html

[leftchick]

14. wtf??

Iraq has really turned into bizarro world! This is unbelievable!

[JohnyCanuck]

6. Maybe the Iraqis finally got fed up

with Dubya's and Poodle's expensive hired hands driving around Iraq in armored SUVs and taking pot shots at any of the natives they figure might be a possible threat without having to answer to any authority for their actions.

The guy in the 2nd pic especially sure does not look like he is a happy camper.

[JohnyCanuck]

7. Iraqi police claim the men were planting bombs.

From the Washington Post:

The clashes are the latest in surging tensions in Basra, a Shiite-dominated city that had long been one of Iraq's calmest. Attacks have targeted British and Americans there.

Monday's clashes stemmed from the arrest by Iraqi police on Sunday of two Britons, whom Iraqi police accused of planting bombs.

A Western military spokesman in Basra confirmed "an ongoing disturbance" in the city on Monday but said Iraqi and British force were working together to try to quell it.

"There is public disorder going on," the official said. "We are aware that Iraqi authorities are holding U.K. service personnel, and we are liaising with Iraqi authorities on the matter," the official said.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/19/AR2005091900572.html?nav=rss_world

[Horse with no Name]

10. What a load of horseshit

They have blue eyes...of course THEY weren't planting bombs. Everyone KNOWS terrorists don't look like that.
:sarcasm:

[NNN0LHI]

12. Looks like some "foreign terrorists" have just been identified

Wonder how many innocent people these guys are responsible for blowing up in Iraq? Oh, thats right these are the good guys so I am sure they were very careful to only blow up very evil people.

Don

[bemildred]

13. Says they are British soldiers LC, I would think that means not Mercs.

Maybe Special Ops, spooks, or something.
Lordy I hope that confessions are not beaten out of them.

[leftchick]

15. where are you reading British soldiers?

Both of these captions say British citizens. Now the only British citizens I know to be there are contractors/mercs. maddezmom has linked to a BBC article saying they possibly are soldiers working undercover? Is that what you are refering to?

They look pretty beat up already! Did the US do this crazy shit in Vietnam? Sounds like another winning 'stratergery'! :eyes:

[muriel_volestrangler]

16. Yes, all news agencies say they're soldiers

including Reuters:

Angry crowds attacked a British tank with petrol bombs and rocks in Basra on Monday after Iraqi authorities detained two British undercover soldiers in the southern city for firing on police.

http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/NewsArticle.aspx?type=topNews&storyID=2005-09-19T173710Z_01_YUE946529_RTRUKOC_0_UK-IRAQ-BRITONS.xml

[leftchick]

17. thank you

interesting. Undercover soldiers? I am still not clear on what they are supposed to be accomplishing "undercover".

[muriel_volestrangler]

18. Who knows?

Channel 4 TV in the UK speculated that it might be spying on the Iraqi police, who are thought to have factions allied to Sadr.