Originally published February 26 2006
Blair vows soldiers' abusive conduct will be investigated
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
British Prime Minister Tony Blair promised a thorough investigation into the alleged mistreatment of Iraqi civilians by British soldiers, after photos of the incident surfaced and created a great public outcry.
The News of the World said on Sunday the alleged attack by eight soldiers, which followed a scene showing youths throwing stones at the soldiers, was videotaped in southern Iraq in early 2004.
"We take seriously any allegations of mistreatment, and this will be investigated very fully indeed," Blair told reporters after a meeting of left-of-center leaders in South Africa.
The beatings include what appears to be a British soldier kicking one of the youths, shown pinned to the ground by other soldiers, in the genitals.
In another case, a soldier puts a boy in a headlock, then releases him only to butt his head against the boy's, then strike his fist on the boy's head.
The youth's cries can be heard on the tape, which shows a minute's worth of the attack -- with 42 blows counted, according to the newspaper.
The News of the World said the video was shown to friends of the corporal in Europe, and one of them reported the incident to the tabloid newspaper.
The paper quoted the informant as saying: "These Iraqis were just kids.
"We condemn all acts of abuse and always treat any allegations of wrongdoing extremely seriously," he said.
"I think it's awful and I think it will cause a lot of trouble in Iraq and I think it will also emphasize the whole point that the continued presence of British and American forces in Iraq are part of the problem, not the solution," he told ITV on Sunday.
Allegations of mistreatment have been leveled at British troops before, but not on the scale of the abuse carried out by Americans against prisoners at Baghdad's Abu Ghraib jail in a scandal that shocked the world in 2004.
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