British troops freed in jailbreak

CNN reported A British armored vehicle escorted by a tank crashed into a detention center Monday in Basra and rescued two undercover troops held by police, an Iraqi Interior Ministry official told CNN.... The official said two unknown gunmen in full Arabic dress began firing on civilians in central Basra, wounding several, including a traffic police officer. There were no fatalities, the official said. The two gunmen fled the scene but were captured and taken in for questioning, admitting they were British marines carrying out a "special security task," the official said. British troops launched the rescue about three hours after Iraqi authorities informed British commanders the men were being held at the police department's major crime unit, the official said.

This sounds pretty bad, doesn't it. CNN makes it sound like British soldiers were shooting innocent civilians and police, and were being held by official Iraqi forces. CNN distorts things a lot. The BBC reveals they were being held not by the Iraqi government, but by a militia.

BBC Two British soldiers whose imprisonment prompted UK troops to storm a Basra police station were later rescued from militia, the Ministry of Defence says.... Basra governor Mohammed al-Waili said the men - possibly working undercover - were arrested for allegedly shooting dead a policeman and wounding another.... In a statement, Brig Lorimer said that under Iraqi law the soldiers should have been handed over to coalition authorities, but this failed to happen despite repeated requests. "I had good reason to believe that the lives of the soldiers were at risk and troops were sent to the area of Basra near the police station to help ensure their safety by providing a cordon," Brig Lorimer said.... "Later in the day, however, I became more concerned about the safety of the two soldiers after we received information that they had been handed over to militia elements." After troops broke into the police station to confirm the men were not there, they staged a rescue from a house in Basra, said the commanding officer of 12 Mechanised Brigade in Basra. Brig Lorimer added: "It is of deep concern that British soldiers held by the police should then end up being held by the militia. This is unacceptable."

James Joyner blogged One would hope there's more to the story and that it will be revealed soon. As David Schraub observes, "Something doesn't seem right here." Certainly, this is no way to inspire confidence among the Iraqi people that its government is in charge and the Coalition troops are merely there to lend a helping hand. Sure enough, the revelation of details helps the British case considerably--while raising other issues.