UK troops 'shot harmless Iraqis'

An eye-witness said Hanan Saleh Matrud's death was not an accident UK troops have killed Iraqi civilians including an eight-year-old girl when they were under no apparent threat, Amnesty International has claimed. The human rights organisation claims in a report that in "many" cases the deaths of civilians by the British military had not been investigated.

Inquiries have been "secretive" and conducted by Military Police, it adds.

The claims are the latest in string of allegations about the treatment of Iraqis by US and British forces.

Separately on Tuesday the High Court ruled that relatives of 12 Iraqis allegedly killed by UK troops will get a full court hearing into the decision not to hold independent inquiries.

The families want to have the deaths declared a breach of the European Convention on Human Rights, but the UK government says the convention does not apply in Iraq.

On Monday, Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon told MPs action was pending against British soldiers in two cases of alleged abuse.

But he said he had "only recently" seen a Red Cross report produced in February detailing further allegations.

On Monday, Mr Hoon also cast doubt on the authenticity of Daily Mirror pictures allegedly showing the assault of an Iraqi prisoner, telling MPs of "strong indications" that a truck seen in the pictures was not used in Iraq.

He later told Channel 4 News he thought the Mirror pictures were fakes.

Lib Dem foreign affairs spokesman Sir Menzies Campbell added that the UK was "paying a considerable moral price" for the reports, because it would be answerable in the minds of Iraqi people for anything done by anyone in the coalition's name.

Vigilantes

Amnesty is calling for an independent civilian-led investigation into all alleged killings in Iraq.

But Downing Street insists all allegations made by Amnesty involving British forces have been or were being investigated.

However, Amnesty's UK director Kate Allen said there were 37 cases of Iraqi civilians being killed, but only 18 had been investigated.

The report was put together in wake of visits to British-administered Southern Iraq in February and March.

The document also highlights killing of former members of Saddam Hussein's regime by vigilantes.

And it suggests members of Iraq's Christian minority have also been targeted.

Ms Allen told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "Killings by UK forces, in situations where they should not be using lethal force, are examined in secrecy and behind closed doors.

"Instead of the Army deciding whether to investigate itself when civilians are killed, there must be a full, impartial and civilian-led investigation into all allegations of killings by UK troops."

The report highlights the case of eight-year-old Hanan Saleh Matrud who was apparently shot by a member of B Company of the 1st Battalion of the King's Regiment last August.

'Shooting in the air'

An eye-witness told Amnesty researchers the girl had been killed when a soldier aimed and fired from a distance of about 60 metres, and not when accidentally hit by a warning shot as claimed by the Army.

Another case highlighted was the fatal shooting of Ghanem Kadhem Kati.

The 22-year-old was shot outside his front door as he celebrated a family wedding.

Military police are understood to be investigating the case amid reports that British troops, responding to the sound of gunfire, shot him despite being told by a neighbour the gunfire was part of the wedding celebrations.

Colonel John Hughes-Wilson, a former British intelligence officer who served in the Gulf War, said the Amnesty report was "disingenuous" and "unfair".

"We are not talking about Tunbridge Wells here, we're talking about Dodge City, with no police force in the aftermath of a major war, with about 16 different armed groups going round shooting Iraqis," he told BBC Radio 5Live.

"If you're a soldier on the ground there, it must be absolutely terrifying."

He said the eight-year-old girl was hit by a stray shot in a riot and UK soldiers were not running amok.

Compensation

The report also raises issues relating to the compensation for families of people who have been killed by UK troops.

Families were often offered no information on how to lodge a compensation claim, Amnesty suggested.

And concerns were raised about the failure to stop vigilante killings by armed groups. Attacks on alcohol traders had reportedly prompted 150 Christian families to flee Basra.

The report does welcome attempts by the British authorities to strengthen the Iraqi police force.

The Ministry of Defence declined to comment on the Amnesty report until it had been considered in detail.

A spokesman said: "Obviously, we take our obligations under the Geneva Conventions and international law very seriously."

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