Britain sued over dead Iraqi boy

Ahmed Jabbar Kareem Ali died in 2003 in a Basra canal

An Iraqi man who says his son drowned after being forced into a river by British troops has begun legal action for damages from the UK government.

Ahmed Jabbar Kareem Ali was 15 when he was detained in Basra in May 2003, accused of looting.

His father claims his son was abused by British troops before being driven to a local river and forced at gunpoint into the water, where he drowned.

Four soldiers were acquitted of Ahmed's manslaughter two years ago.

Solicitors acting on behalf of the Ahmed's father and another man who was detained with his son have lodged papers at the High Court.

'Wetting' claim

They claim that the British military had a policy known as "wetting", which involved forcing detainees into water.

It is thought the men are claiming more than £100,000 in compensation in total.

The soldiers had been accused of forcing suspected looters at gunpoint into the Shatt al-Basra canal to "teach them a lesson" in May 2003.

The case was heard at a court martial in Colchester in 2006.

Sgt Carle Selman, 39, then of the Coldstream Guards, and now with the Scots Guards, Guardsman Joseph McCleary, 24, and Guardsman Martin McGing, 22, both of the Irish Guards were all cleared.

A fourth soldier - L/Cpl James Cook of the Irish Guards - was found not guilty at an earlier hearing.

Separate case

The action comes two months after the MOD separately agreed to pay £2.8 million in damages in an out of court settlement to a group of Iraqis abused by British troops in Basra in September 2003.

Nine Iraqi men were mistreated and another man - Baha Mousa, 26, - was beaten to death in custody.

One soldier was jailed for a year and dismissed from the army after admitting treating the Iraqis inhumanely.

A spokesman for the Ministry of Defence said it would be inappropriate to comment on the case of Ahmed Jabbar Kareem Ali as it was subject to litigation.

He added: "The MoD has a legal liability to pay compensation where there is a proven legal liability."