Iraqi border guards arrest British national in desert

[sabra]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20051004/wl_mideast_afp/iraqbritainarrest_051004095405

Iraqi border guards arrest British national in desert

NAJAF, Iraq (AFP) - A British national has been arrested by Iraqi border guards near the Saudi border in Najaf province, British and Iraqi officials said.

"We can confirm that a UK national has been arrested by the Iraqi department of border enforcement," a British military spokesman said on Tuesday, adding the Foreign Office was investigating the arrest which was believed to have taken place on Monday night.

An Iraqi border guards spokesman in Najaf, Saadun al-Jaaberi, said guards arrested "a terrorist group consisting of 10 people, including one British national called Colin Peter, near Mathlum, near the Saudi border".

The other nine were Iraqis from the southern city of Basra, he said.

[acmavm]

1. What are those pesky British up to? Did this guy have a wig on as well?

.

[CottonBear]

4. The British withdrew from Basra. Is this man a special forces officer

or a spy? Isn't it incredibly dangerous for any westerner to be on their own in Iraq?

[alkaline9]

2. how long till the brits knock down another prison??? nt

[Cocoa]

3. weird stuff going on in Iraq

completely out of sight of the media, which has pretty much given up reporting on it.

This war is a little more complex than the neocon fantasy, eh?

Speaking of whom, where did they all go? We used to see Richard Perle on a nearly daily basis on C-span...

[Taxloss]

5. Ah, one of our home-grown Jihadists.

We're exporting them over there so we don't have to fight them over here, or something. I forget how it was meant to work. We're growing them over here so they can fight them over there ... we're inspiring them over there so they can be fought over here ... I don't know how it works, but the important thing to remember is that the British presence in Iraq has inspired absolutely no terrorism in Britain.

:sarcasm:

[Cocoa]

7. maybe or maybe not

who knows who that group was. Maybe they were terrorists or maybe they were some faction or other in some conflict we haven't even heard of that has nothing to do with terrorism as we know it. Maybe the British have taken one side or the other in this conflict for some reason or other. Or maybe that one Brit sold out to one of the factions for money? Who knows?

[Taxloss]

8. Who knows? They could have been carpet salesmen.

Or a troupe of actors!

But the most likely option is that they are wannabe-insurgents. British Muslims are know to be fighting the occupation already.

[Cocoa]

10. I disagree

I think the "insurgents vs. occupation" model has outlived its usefulness in understanding the war. Especially in southern Iraq, where this incident happened.

[Taxloss]

12. It seems he was an engineer.

So we were both wrong.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4309872.stm

[Roland99]

6. Much more interesting than when I first heard about.

Considering the recent British intelligence Negroponte-style operation, this is very interesting, indeed.

[Englander]

9. BBC - Iraq arrest Briton freed by court

Last Updated: Tuesday, 4 October 2005, 17:53 GMT 18:53 UK

A Briton arrested in southern Iraq has been released after appearing in court.

Colin Peter Wanley was held in Najaf on Monday, along with 10 Iraqis, because he had entered Iraq without the correct visa, according to local authorities.

The engineer was freed, along with three Iraqi guards, after the court reviewed his documents, say reports.

Najaf, a Shia holy city, is about 200km (125 miles) east of the border with Saudi Arabia and about 160km (100 miles) south of Baghdad.



http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4309872.stm

[leftchick]

11. I read this two days ago

Yahoo is just picking it up and missing a few pertinent details. He is a British Private Contractor who was arrested for the unlawful weapons noted here..

<snip>

The group was armed with Kalashnikov assault rifles and were carrying a video camera, a satellite telephone and GPS satellite-tracking device, Jaaberi added.

I will look for the other link from the UK...

on edit: here it is...


Police arrest Briton over assault rifles
By James Hider



A BRITISH contractor was briefly detained yesterday in Najaf by Iraqi police, who said that he had failed to produce permits for assault rifles and pistols in his possession.
Border police identified him as Colin Peter Wanley, who they said worked for the security company Ammtech International. He was arrested 30 miles west of the Shia city, on a road to the Saudi border, with ten Iraqis in three four-wheel-drive vehicles containing eight Kalashnikov assault rifles and pistols.

A police spokesman said that Mr Wanley, 49, from Carlisle, did not have permits for the weapons and had only a visitor’s visa for Iraq. He was released after several hours.


http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,7374-1811034,00.html

[bemildred]

13. Still doodle in the way of explaining what he thought he was doing. nt

[leftchick]

14. I can think of a lot of things he was doing.

None of them kosher either.

[bemildred]

15. You should check this out if you haven't yet:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=103x162095

[leftchick]

18. Thank you, very informative link....

Amazing the shit going down in Iraq right now. A Contractor, SAS, Black OPs wet dream. And the results will be horrible blow back for the Westerners...

<snip>

In an interview on Syrian TV, also on the 19th, Nidal Zaghbur spoke with his colleague in Baghdad, Ziyad al-Munajjid. Al-Munajjid said: “this incident gave answers to questions and suspicions that were lacking evidence about the participation of the occupation in some armed operations in Iraq. Many analysts and observers here had suspicions that the occupation was involved in some armed operations against civilians and places of worship and in the killing of scientists. “

[0007]

17. Good catch gal! Haven't much faith in Yahoo news.

[Javaman]

16. As much as Iraq IS Alice in Wonderland, this is most definately...

through the looking glass type stuff.

Strange things are afoot at the Iraqi Circle K....