Iraq killings 'will not affect patrols'

UK troops continue to patrol in Iraq

The killing of six British soldiers will not change the way troops run patrols in Iraq, a senior British commander has said.

Major General Peter Wall said the killings in the southern town of Al Majar al-Kabir on Tuesday had not damaged morale among the troops and they would not be deflected from helping to rebuild the country.

He told the BBC in Basra that a "misunderstanding" over controversial weapons searches led to eight members of the 1st Battalion the Parachute Regiment being wounded in a firefight on the same day.

General Wall said the searches in the town had already been stopped in response to protests from residents.

But trouble erupted when local people expected the troops to search their homes when they were actually planning to conduct a routine joint patrol with local militia, he said.

How the carnage unfolded

Business as usual for patrols

The troops came under attack from rocket propelled grenades and a quick reaction force, including a helicopter sent to rescue the troops, also came under attack.

General Wall said: "The townspeople expected searches for weapons to be conducted by our patrols.

"That was not our intent and this had been explained to the town council at a formal meeting earlier in the week, when the strength of their resentment to weapons searches had become clear."

The patrol was sent in "to build confidence among the townspeople, contain lawlessness and not do anything more intrusive", he said.

The violence continued later in the day when six Royal Military Police were killed.

General Wall said it would be inappropriate to comment on the killings while the facts still had to be established.

"The fact the there were no British survivors makes this particularly difficult," he said.

'Heavy-handed'

"We know that they were in the police station, we know that they were overwhelmed by an aggressive crowd, we know that ultimately, and very sadly, they were all killed.

"Their bodies were recovered by the local Maysan province guard service to an incident control point that we had by then established in the outskirts of the town."

The six-man patrol had planned to visit several police stations to liaise about policing matters and monitor their progress, General Wall said.

A demonstration erupted when they stopped in the town of Majar al-Kabir, residents said.

RMP TROOPS KILLED IN IRAQ

Corporal Simon Miller, 21
Tyne and Wear (pictured)

Sergeant Simon Alexander Hamilton-Jewell, 41
from Chessington, Surrey

Corporal Russell Aston, 30
Swadlincote, Derbyshire

Corporal Paul Graham Long, 24
Colchester

Lance-Corporal Benjamin John McGowan Hyde, 23
Northallerton, Yorks

Lance-Corporal Thomas Richard Keys, 20
Bala, N Wales

The soldiers who died

Profile of Royal Military Police

When asked if the killers would be caught, General Wall said: "Yes, most certainly."

Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon confirmed the confusion.

"I think, certainly, that the fact that we had decided to call off searches on the Monday clearly hadn't been properly understood by the local population, and not communicated properly to them," he said.

The Army has confirmed it used sniffer dogs during previous searches - a tactic that caused outrage among the conservative Shia Muslim population, who regard dogs as offensive because they are considered unclean.

Soldiers being heavy-handed, not giving notice of searches and rifling through women's wardrobes are also among the reported grievances.

Some reports said up to four Iraqis were also killed in the fighting.

There are questions over whether the military police who died were equipped to properly defend themselves.

Concern has been raised over the "softly, softly" approach being used Iraq, with patrolling soldiers shunning helmets and flak jackets and maintaining a high profile.

In the latest attack on coalition troops, a patrol of US soldiers came under attack on the outskirts of Baghdad on Thursday, with reports that one person has died.

There are 14,000 British forces patrolling parts of Iraq in the aftermath of April's conflict, but "thousands" more could be sent if necessary, said Mr Hoon.

International Development Secretary Baroness Amos, visiting Baghdad, announced that Britain will allocate another £35m to the United Nations to help relief and reconstruction efforts in Iraq.