London, May 02: British armed forces have questioned
the authenticity of the photos in a newspaper showing British
troops abusing an Iraqi prisoner, a British television channel reported today.
Sources close to the Queen's Lancashire regiment believe
many aspects of the photographs, published yesterday in the
Daily Mirror appearing to show troops beating and urinating on
an Iraqi detainee in a camp near Basra, are suspicious,
the report said.
The sources told that the pictures may not have even
been taken in Iraq. They believe the rifle is an SA80 MK 1-
which was not issued to troops in Iraq, the report said.
They say soldiers in Iraq wore berets or hard hats - and
not floppy hats as in the photos. They also believe the wrong
type of Bedford truck is shown in the background - a type
never deployed in Iraq.
Colonel Bob Stewart, who commanded British forces in the
Balkans, the channel he could not be sure whether the
photos were genuine or not.
As well as questions over the rifle, vehicle and hat, he
also pointed out that there were discrepancies over clothing
and the condition of the captive.
"The shirt looks like a football shirt. Is that the sort
of shirt that a captive might be wearing, slightly silky with
an Iraqi flag?
British Military has reportedly launched a probe into
the photograph incident. The Daily Mirror said that the Iraqi
prisoner, aged 18-20, was savagely beaten before thrown from a
moving truck. His fate was not known.
Bureau Report
