Attacks 'could change military tactics'

British troops have attempted to win hearts and minds

The attacks on British servicemen in Iraq could lead to significant changes in the way they approach operations in the country, according to one military expert.

British troops quickly shed their body armour and helmets following the war, to demonstrate to local people that they were not hostile.

But Paul Beaver said the deaths of six military police officers and the wounding of a further eight servicemen at Majar al-Kabir was likely to change that.

"It may well be that body armour has to go back on, that helmets have to go on in certain situations," he said.

Rejection of occupation?

Mr Beaver said the attacks suggested that there was "organised but not necessarily co-ordinated opposition" to the presence of British soldiers.

The best defence that there is, is local intelligence and I am sure the British will be already working to try and establish what exactly happened Paul Beaver

He speculated they might involve different groups to those who have attacked US soldiers elsewhere in Iraq, as the area around Iraq's second city of Basra is predominately Shia Muslim and anti-Saddam.

"This is probably a rejection of the occupation, as the Shia would see it, of Iraq."

But he added: "I think that we have to be careful with drawing too many conclusions."

'Best defence'

Military leaders will now double check that the correct procedures are being followed and troops are wearing the right equipment, Mr Beaver said.

But he insisted that the deaths and injuries would be unlikely to surprise military leaders.

"This is not an unusual situation in an unstable country where there is yet to be peace on the ground.

"It's not going to cause a sudden withdrawal of British forces, that's not the way the British Army operates."

Instead, he said the safety of all forces in Iraq, and ways they could anticipate further unrest, would be closely examined.

"The best defence is local intelligence and I am sure the British will be already working to try and establish what exactly happened, who this group is and what sort of support they have," Mr Beaver added.

Monitoring situation

Dan Plesch, a defence analyst at the Royal United Services Institute, said UK political leaders and military commanders would be monitoring the situation very closely.

"One has to ask whether we are talking about people loyal to Saddam, or Iraqis that simply think that the UK and Americans are occupying their country and should leave. Those are two very different propositions," Mr Plesch told BBC News 24.

He said that until Tuesday's attacks, British troops had been making positive steps in establishing peace in southern Iraq - such as the opening of the Central Bank in Basra, as well as some indigenous river patrols.

He believed that while the Ministry of Defence and commanders on the ground would certainly have planned for such a serious attack, it was now up to the government to be more transparent about what the political plan was for Britain's presence in Iraq.

"I think the government has some responsibility to the people serving it and serving us all, to make it clear what the political strategy is."

Peacekeeping tactics

Military expert Colonel Mike Dewar believed that the attacks would not necessarily change the "Northern Ireland-style tactics" employed by UK troops.

"I don't think it will change our essential approach to peacemaking. They will try to continue to go on in the British way."

This smacked of a very well planned, well executed operation Colonel Mike Dewar

He said UK troops involved in "hearts and minds" operations had been taking off their helmets, removing sunglasses to talk to people, playing football with the locals and generally not hiding away in armoured vehicles.

"The situation up until now has been much more in control down in the south. Things were going almost too well," he told the BBC.

He said the attacks near Basra "smacked of a very well planned, well executed operation".

However he believed the events would not steer British troops off their course.

"This is one of the bad days but we shouldn't be deflected from our purpose."