Fears that Coalition personnel face new threat in Iraq
The death of six British military police in Iraq has led to speculation from some quarters that Coalition personnel may face a renewed threat from representatives of the Ba’ath party regime still loyal to Saddam.
The military police are understood to have been training local people in an attempt to set up a police force in the area.
The attacks will likely lead to a review of the tactics of British personnel in Iraq, who in recent weeks have patrolled the streets of southern town and cities in soft-top vehicles and wearing caps rather than armour and helmets in the manner of the American troops in the north of the country.
Shadow Defence Secretary Bernard Jenkin tonight warned against jumping to conclusions regarding the implications of the attacks.
Mr Jenkins told Channel Four that it was “too soon” to tell whether the attacks were the start of new hostilities between the Coalition and troops loyal to Saddam or whether there was a “shift in the security situation in Iraq.”
