By Michael Georgy
MAJJAR, Iraq (Reuters) - Six British soldiers killed Tuesday were shot dead by
Iraqi civilians angry at intrusive searches for weapons in a conservative
Shi'ite Muslim town in southern Iraq, residents said Wednesday.
The British government said six soldiers were killed and eight wounded in two
separate incidents Tuesday near the city of Amarah, some 120 miles north of
Iraq's British- controlled second city, Basra.
Witnesses in the town of Majjar, 18 miles south of Amarah, said the six were
killed by residents after days of tension because of methods a British force
used to search for heavy weapons.
At least two Iraqis died in Tuesday's clash at Majjar, residents said, adding
that the British opened fire with plastic bullets to control a crowd after days
of tension.
There was no immediate comment from the British military on the report.
"These British soldiers came with their dogs and pointed weapons at women and
children. As Muslims, we can't accept dogs at our homes," Rabee al-Malki told
Reuters.
Residents said the soldiers first came to the town to search for weapons on June
21. They burst into houses with dogs sniffing for weapons and with guns pointing
at women and children.
After complaints from locals the British force agreed to halt the intrusive
inspections, but two days later they returned with the same attitude, the
residents said.
The Iraqis asked to stop the searches and promised to hand over weapons within
two months, they said.
When the soldiers returned Tuesday, thousands took to the streets to protest.
"I yelled at them because they pointed their rifles at a child. I told them
'don't do that' but a soldier hit me with the butt of his rifle in the face,"
one resident, who refused to give his name, said. "Then the shooting started."
The British forces opened fire with plastic bullets to control the crowd.
Iraqis, believing the British were firing live bullets, fired from their AK-47s,
killing the soldiers.
Residents said at least two Iraqis were also killed.
"A British soldier held the underwear of a woman and stretched it. How can we
accept this as Muslims and as Shi'ites," Faleh Saleem said.
The casualties were the worst suffered by British forces in a single "hostile
fire" incident since the war to oust Saddam Hussein erupted on March 20.
The British forces who control the mainly Shi'ite south have had few problems
since Saddam was ousted, unlike U.S. troops in mainly Sunni central Iraq.
Shi'ites expressed joy at the ousting of Saddam, a Sunni, who oppressed them for
two decades.
Residents said they would not accept a British presence in their town any more.
"We will do the same if the British come back. We will not allow them to come
back," Abu Faten.
.
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