POWs are Kenyan civilians

POWs are Kenyan civilians

One of the prisoners of war shown on al-Jazeera TV

Two men captured by Iraq and shown on TV have been identified as Kenyan civilians.

An unnamed foreign ministry official in Nairobi identified the two men as David Mukuria and Jacob Kamau Maina from central Kenya.

On Thursday, an MoD spokeswoman told BBC News Online that the two drivers were sub-contractors to the British Army working through an unnamed company in Saudi Arabia.

She said they had been part of a convoy with a military escort, but had become separated after it was halted by a "civil disturbance".

The MoD said it appeared the two drivers had been captured after they failed to make a turning when the rest of the aid convoy did.

The second Kenyan PoW

The Kenyan official said their country's ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Mohamed Mahat, was working with the International Committee of the Red Cross to seek the two men's release.

The official declined to name the company the Kenyans were working for and gave no other details.

Criticism

The MoD spokeswoman said: "It would be quite normal to hire civilian contractors."

But she could not say how many civilians were working for the MoD in Iraq, or whether the policy was under review.

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The men should be given prisoner of war status while they were held, she added.

Their employers have been informed of their capture.

UK Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon had criticised Qatar-based satellite channel al-Jazeera for showing footage of the captured men and of dead British soldiers.

Mr Hoon said the decision to broadcast TV footage of two dead British soldiers had been a "flagrant and sickening breach of the Geneva convention".

And he condemned the Iraqi regime for "parading" the prisoners of war on television.

Mr Hoon said anybody guilty of war crimes would be held personally responsible for their actions.

Earlier al-Jazeera reporter Jawad Omari defended the station, saying it was determined to "show our audience the truth, even if it is a dirty war".