British Troops' Ambush in Iraq: Fatal Flaw in Military Planning

The coroner investigating the killing of two British troops in Iraq said that the soldiers should not have been allowed to enter the town where they were ambushed. The Oxford court was told that a journalist, Terry Lloyd, had been killed on the same road 24 hours before the ambush on March 23, 2003. The coroner, Andrew Walker, stated that the failure to adequately plan for and warn of the dangers was a contributory factor to their deaths. The two soldiers, Staff Sergeant Simon Cullingworth and Sapper Luke Allsopp, were attacked by a hail of bullets and a rocket-propelled grenade while driving through the outskirts of Zubayr, near Basra.

Key Takeaways:

• The coroner, Andrew Walker, found that the soldiers should not have been allowed to enter the town where they were ambushed.
• The court was told that the soldiers could have been told to go around the town of Zubayr and avoid the area on their way to clear a site for a radio communications base.
• The two soldiers were ordered to go through the outskirts instead, taking a wrong turn and ending up driving straight through the town.
• They were attacked by Iraqi fighters who began to run towards the vehicles while maintaining heavy fire.
• Staff Sgt Cullingworth administered morphine to Sapper Allsopp at some point, but they were both later shot and killed in an Iraqi military intelligence compound.
• The men's bodies were found a month later buried in shallow graves near the town.
• A witness described to Major Kay Roberts that people handed over to military intelligence would be murdered in Iraq.
• The Ministry of Defence said the case was now in the hands of Iraq's central criminal court and that suspects were being held.

Statistics:

• 24 hours before the ambush on March 23, 2003, a journalist, Terry Lloyd, was killed on the same road.
• 119 British military personnel have died since the invasion of Iraq.
• 15 shells were fired at the Shaat Al Arab Hotel in Basra on Sunday evening, with three landing inside.
• Two soldiers with the Royal Army Medical Corps were killed, and another soldier was seriously injured in the attack.

Sources:

• Richard Norton-Taylor, "Coroner condemns British military over deaths in Iraq", The Guardian, (date not mentioned).
• Associated Press, "British Forces Exchange Fire with Militants in Basra Hotel Attack", (date not mentioned).