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U.K. troops face allegations of torture in Iraq

By Hasan Suroor

LONDON, MAY 1. A day after the U.S. soldiers attracted worldwide condemnation for alleged abuses of Iraqi prisoners, it was the turn of their British allies to face similar allegations today when a newspaper published shocking photographs of an Iraqi detainee being tortured by British soldiers, dealing an embarrassing blow to claims that Her Majesty's men were better behaved.

The vivid photographs, which the Mirror newspaper claimed were given to it by serving British officers, showed an Iraqi man being urinated upon and kicked by a soldier.

The unidentified man, detained on suspicion of theft after a raid in Basra last year, was allegedly beaten up with rifle butts and then flung out from the back of a speeding vehicle even as he was still bleeding and vomiting, the report claimed, adding that the eight-hour ordeal left him with broken jaw and teeth.

It was not known whether the man survived the torture. The horrifying images drew widespread condemnation as an embarrassed Defence Ministry ordered an investigation into what the Chief of the General Staff Michael Jackson admitted was an `appalling' incident, if true.

"All allegations are under investigation. If proven, not only is such appalling conduct unlawful, it also contravenes the British army's high standards,'' Sir Michael said. Downing Street said the Prime Minister, Tony Blair, agreed that allegations of this nature should be "treated seriously''.

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