Warrior Armoured Vehicle

[Wg Cdr ComfeyChair-Smyth]

British troops were attacked by 500 screaming rioters hurling rocks and petrol bombs outside Basra police station holding the SAS men. Two squaddies were seen in flames as they fled a Warrior armoured vehicle - in graphic images flashed around the world on television. Both Brits, from the Coldstream Guards battle Group, were being treated for burns last night in a millitary hospital. A third squaddie was also wounded. Two civillians were shot dead and 15 hurt in street clashes following the arrests of the two SAS men.

But officers gave their men strict orders NOT to retaliate to the rioting so as not to provoke the mob further. The pre-planned Insurgency violence was to avenge the arrest of rebel bosses on Sunday. The boss and No2 of Basra's Mehdi Army - militant followers of rebel cleric Moqtada al-Sadr - were among six militants arrested with bomb making equipment in their cars. Followers have given Iraqi police 24 hours to release them.

A senior British Army officer said last night: "The people attacking us were not ordinary Iraqis who normally give us massive support. Most were probably paid to be there by the Mehdi Army."

Reporter Tom Newton Dunn

Having served in Iraq, I still find it ludicrous that a vehicle that is able to withstand the NBC threat and has a heavy armour capability can be brought to rest by a petrol bomb. Surely given the situation, the squaddies involved would have been better to have secured themselves inside the vehicle, than make themselves a vunerable target.

 

[wobbly]

My guess is that the seal around the hatch was robbed or fooked.

 

[Cutaway]

The hatches were open when the crowd pitched up. The Molotovs started coming in before they were closed.
The restraint shown by the troops involved underlined their professionalism - or was it hesitation due to the more or less automatic Courts Martial, (demanded by the redtop press,) of all troops who open fire in self defence ?

British soldiers described on Wednesday how they bailed out of a burning tank after it was attacked by a mob throwing bricks, stones and petrol bombs in the southern Iraqi city of Basra.

The soldiers were caught in a riot on Monday during a British raid on an Iraqi jail to free two undercover soldiers detained by local security forces. The raid provoked a furious response from Iraqis in Basra, and Iraq's government has launched an investigation.

During the raid, a crowd of Iraqis hurled petrol bombs at British troops, and pictures of one soldier engulfed in flames as he tumbled from his tank have dominated television and newspapers for days.

Speaking from his army base in southern Iraq, the soldier, George Long, described how his Warrior light tank was surrounded by angry Iraqis.

"The crowd grew more hostile, and moved closer to the Warriors," he told Sky Television News.

"They were throwing petrol bombs ... Our hatches were open and one of the petrol bombs unfortunately hit the top and came in on top of me and my gunner.

"I had to get out because basically it was in flames, on fire, so ... I got out and luckily enough, someone put me out (put out the flames)."

Another of the soldiers, tank driver Ryon Burton, described how he jumped through the fire to escape:

"I couldn't breathe at all because of the fumes that were coming through. I just needed to get out, just think about my life basically."

Major John Sheard said there were between 500 to 1,000 rioters, around three times more than the government has acknowledged.

"The crowd almost overran the Warrior," he said.

Lieutenant Corporal Jo McCann said the television footage made the incident look worse than it was.

"The Warrior's quite tough," he said. "Apart from the one (petrol bomb) that went into the turret nothing was seriously wrong with the vehicle.

"It was a bit hot to touch, but it wasn't too bad."

British forces eventually completed the raid, breached the walls of the jail and freed the two undercover soldiers. The incident has heightened tensions between Iraqis and the 8,500 British troops based in the south of the country.

Britain says its forces moved in because the undercover soldiers were held by a militia group who had gained custody of them from police.

But Iraqi Interior Minister Bayan Jabor told the BBC the men had never left police custody, and were not handed to militants.

http://newsbox.msn.co.uk/article.as...ortlive&ks=0&mc=5&ml=ma&lc=en&ae=windows-1252

 

[Wg Cdr ComfeyChair-Smyth]

Cutaway

The restraint shown by the troops involved underlined their professionalism - or was it hesitation due to the more or less automatic Courts Martial, (demanded by the redtop press,) of all troops who open fire in self defence ?

I was refering to the vehicle and the position of the personell, I did not infer that they acted in any other manner than being professional. The text was taken from the papers, not my own interpretation

 

[Cutaway]

I was refering to the vehicle and the position of the personell, I did not infer that they acted in any other manner than being professional. The text was taken from the papers, not my own interpretation

No worries, I wasn't knocking your post.

It does concern me though that young squaddies may now hesitate in deadly situations due to the utter lack of backup provided by the current regime.

 

[North Sea Tiger]

Bearing in mind that fresh air has to be drawn into the vehicle from somewhere as it is capable of operating in an NBC enviroment, maybe that inlet or vent was on fire causing them to bale out ?? .. but of course reporters are always right arent they ?? .. fair play to the army for restraining themselves and not retaliating.

Far better plan to just drive armoured vehicles into the jail, pop the hatch, yell "TAXI!!" and bug out with our guys .. usefully freeing some prisoners who now have a higher opinion of the British Army than they did a few days ago !!

Now thats winning hearts and minds !!

 

[wobbly]

I have nothing but utter respect for our soldiers out on the streets of Iraq.........using protecting us lot at Basrah. They have on numerous high profile conflicts used minimum force to overcome and calm highly volatile situations which certain allied forces would have resorted to mass fire power.

Keep it up lads................................but remember the 'self preservation society'.

 

[Plumber]

I hear the Iraqi's want an apology now for breaking into their police station. Bunch of ar*e.

 

[wobbly]

They should be happy it was only a wall considering the hooligans were involved.

 

[North Sea Tiger]

Going to borrow a quote I saw on pprune.com that should serve as a motto for all the guys out in Iraq ..

.. Better to be tried by 12 than carried by 6.

BZ.