Damaging allegations that British troops beat Iraqi prisoners "for fun" were aired on television on Friday, just hours after a newspaper editor was removed for publishing fake photographs of similar abuse.
A soldier told a prime-time current affairs show that he repeatedly saw prisoners hooded, restrained physically and beaten for long periods.
"They were beaten for fun," the man, identified only as "Soldier C" and shown only in shadow, told ITV's Tonight with Trevor McDonald program.
"I saw prisoners being punched, slapped, kicked, pushed around. Sand bagged, zip-tied," he said,
"I saw them in those sand bags for hours and hours on end. And then water would be poured over them. I know that some of them had trouble breathing."
Some prisoners were often "beyond" screaming or crying out, he added.
The soldier was identified as being a member of the Territorial Army part-time reserve force, who while serving in Iraq was attached to the Queen's Lancashire Regiment.
The same regiment was identified as being behind alleged abuses shown in pictures published in the tabloid Daily Mirror on May 1, photos backed up by testimony from troops including Soldier C.
The pictures, which showed what were identified as British troops apparently beating and urinating on a detainee, were rejected as fake by the British Ministry of Defence on Thursday.
On Friday evening, the Trinity Mirror group, which publishes the newspaper, said editor Piers Morgan was "stepping down" with immediate effect, apologizing to the regiment and saying it had been "the subject of a calculated and malicious hoax."
A former commanding officer of the regiment, Colonel David Black, later voiced "quiet satisfaction" at the news.
However, Soldier C said that abuse, while not systematic, had been taking place frequently.
"I knew that it was going on for long periods of time, and seeing the state of the guys that were in captivity, you knew that it was getting to a dangerous level," he said, blaming a lack of supervision by senior officers and top military command.
"I'm sure at the top level, you know, they don't condone all these sorts of acts. I believe that.
"But when it gets down to the lower levels, it's hard to control," he said.
Also See Story:
Hoax photos claim scalp of `Mirror' editor
Auckland rang in 2026 with a downtown fireworks display launched from New Zealand’s tallest structure, Sky Tower, making it the first major city to greet the new year at a celebration dampened by rain, while crowds in Taipei braved the elements to watch Taipei 101’s display. South Pacific countries are the first to bid farewell to 2025. Clocks struck midnight in Auckland, with a population of 1.7 million, 18 hours before the famous ball was to drop in New York’s Times Square. The five-minute display involved 3,500 fireworks launched from the 240m Sky Tower. Smaller community events were canceled across New Zealand’s
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday said it is closely monitoring developments in Venezuela, and would continue to cooperate with democratic allies and work together for regional and global security, stability, and prosperity. The remarks came after the US on Saturday launched a series of airstrikes in Venezuela and kidnapped Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, who was later flown to New York along with his wife. The pair face US charges related to drug trafficking and alleged cooperation with gangs designated as terrorist organizations. Maduro has denied the allegations. The ministry said that it is closely monitoring the political and economic situation
‘SLICING METHOD’: In the event of a blockade, the China Coast Guard would intercept Taiwanese ships while its navy would seek to deter foreign intervention China’s military drills around Taiwan this week signaled potential strategies to cut the nation off from energy supplies and foreign military assistance, a US think tank report said. The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) conducted what it called “Justice Mission 2025” exercises from Monday to Tuesday in five maritime zones and airspace around Taiwan, calling them a warning to “Taiwanese independence” forces. In a report released on Wednesday, the Institute for the Study of War said the exercises effectively simulated blocking shipping routes to major port cities, including Kaohsiung, Keelung and Hualien. Taiwan would be highly vulnerable under such a blockade, because it
UNRELENTING: China attempted cyberattacks on Taiwan’s critical infrastructure 2.63 million times per day last year, up from 1.23 million in 2023, the NSB said China’s cyberarmy has long engaged in cyberattacks against Taiwan’s critical infrastructure, employing diverse and evolving tactics, the National Security Bureau (NSB) said yesterday, adding that cyberattacks on critical energy infrastructure last year increased 10-fold compared with the previous year. The NSB yesterday released a report titled Analysis on China’s Cyber Threats to Taiwan’s Critical Infrastructure in 2025, outlining the number of cyberattacks, major tactics and hacker groups. Taiwan’s national intelligence community identified a large number of cybersecurity incidents last year, the bureau said in a statement. China’s cyberarmy last year launched an average of 2.63 million intrusion attempts per day targeting Taiwan’s critical
RSS