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| Iraq |
| Bombers paid to attack UK troops in Basra |
| 2006-03-28 |
| BOMBERS are being paid hard cash to launch attacks on British troops in southern Iraq, according to military commanders. Officers say British soldiers are facing a new wave of roadside bomb attacks as a result of the financial incentives. Yesterday, the commanding officer of the Royal Scots, Lieutenant-Colonel Robert Bruce, said soldiers in and around Basra were facing an increasing danger from roadside bombings. He said high levels of unemployment meant that the offer of cash from insurgents to mount attacks was proving attractive to some parts of the population. "For the people who are planting the bombs there may be a not insignificant financial motivation," he said. "There is a fair amount of dissatisfaction, there is an awful lot of unemployment and if an individual is offered money to plant a device, and perhaps even more money if the device is successful, then I think that is a motivation." He said financial motives were likely to be behind the filming of some attacks. "I think that is why so many of these attacks are videotaped, because if it ends up in the international media, it proves the attack has been successful and the financial rewards will be even greater." Lt-Col Bruce would not put a price on the bombings, but other officers have suggested that payments begin at about $50 (£29) for a successful attack, a huge sum in a country where the average wage before the war started was barely £11 a month. The Royal Scots, who are based in Edinburgh, are on a six-month tour of duty in Iraq and are expected to return in May. They are mainly involved in escort duties and force protection, escorting convoys in and around Basra and providing protection for senior officers in Baghdad. Ministers have insisted that British troops will only leave Iraq when Iraqi security forces are capable of taking over responsibility for maintaining order, but there appears to be little sign of an easing in the security situation. Although there have been no deaths from enemy action this month, Lt-Col Bruce said British troops still faced dangers. "It is busy at the moment," he said. "It is pretty consistently busy. There is a steady threat, mainly coming from roadside bombs and that is certainly what keeps us on our toes." Speaking from his base south of Basra, he said the nature of the attacks was unpredictable. The focus of the insurgency moved around, with Al Amarah - where British forces have faced some of the fiercest opposition - now quiet in comparison to Basra. "The emphasis tends to shift," he said. "We see the frequency and concentration of attacks shifting. I don't know whether they have become more intense down south or if they have just moved around." He said it was hard to judge how much success British forces were having. "There is a basic background level [of violence] and it would be nice if we could say we were making inroads, but what we are really trying to do is to work with the Iraqis to make inroads into it." |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |