"nightly suicide missions"

[frogcycle]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/military/story/0,,2134087,00.html

Richard Norton-Taylor
Wednesday July 25, 2007
The Guardian

British soldiers are going on "nightly suicide missions" in southern Iraq and they are there only at the behest of the US, Labour MPs on the Commons defence committee told the government yesterday.

In evidence that reflects deepening concern among army commanders, the MPs said they were told during a recent visit to British troops in Basra that the UK's military role in Iraq was over.

They painted a dark picture of the security situation in the city, with Iraqi forces inadequately trained, and infiltrated by Shia militia and criminal gangs. The view appeared to be shared yesterday by Bob Ainsworth, the new armed forces minister also just back from a visit to southern Iraq, and by Brigadier Chris Hughes, the Ministry of Defence's senior officer responsible for military commitments.

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http://www.guardian.co.uk/military/story/0,,2134087,00.html