In reaction to the storming of a Basra police station to free two British SAS soldiers by British forces, the Iraqi city's governing council has
voted to cease all cooperation with the British until three demands are met. The council seeks an apology, a guarantee that there will not be a repeat
incident, and compensation for damage caused during the raid. Controversy and conflicting reports continue to surround the capture and extraction of
the two soldiers, who were reported to be dressed in Arabic "disguises" and to have fired on Basran police during the course of their apprehension.
Unconfirmed reports also emerged that the vehicle the soldiers were driving contained explosives.
today.reuters.com
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - The Iraqi city of Basra said on Thursday it would not cooperate with Britain until it received an apology and compensation after
a British raid to free two soldiers.
"The governing council met yesterday and decided to stop all cooperation with the British until they meet three demands," Basra governor Mohammed
al-Waili told Reuters.
"To apologize for what happened, to guarantee that it does not happen again, and third, to provide some compensation for all the damage they did
during the operation," he said.
City authorities say British troops killed two Iraqi police during the raid.
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A CNN article, including an interview with Mohammed Al-Ubadi, head of the Basra Governing Council, describes the council's demands a little
differently, expanding the no-cooperation decision to cover "Multinational Forces", and including a demand that the soldiers be returned to Basran
police custody.
Basra officials cut ties over raid -
www.cnn.com
In a telephone interview, Mohammed Al-Ubadi, head of the Basra Governing Council, told CNN that a meeting was held Thursday including the 41 members
of the Basra Governing Council and British government representatives regarding the raid.
Ubadi said: "Our decision is to cut off our relations with the Multinational Forces until we receive a formal apology from the British government for
this act.
"We also ask for the return of two detainees to Iraqi custody, compensation for the casualties that resulted, and compensation to the major crimes
unit for the destruction of the facility."
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Weapons and equipment found in the vehicle do not appear to show explosives:
The potential for worsening of the already-damaged Iraqi-Coalition relations should not be underestimated here. If the rumors of explosives in the
vehicle spread, the situation may deteriorate quickly. And it is very interesting to note the tenacity with which the governing council is making
demands of the British, possibly indicating that something is seriously amiss, or the events are not being reported as truthfully as they should in
the Western media.
There still seem to be many unanswered questions surrounding this incident.
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