Iraq militia: we have special unit to target Prince Harry
Pastor Dale Morgan
Iraq militia: we have special unit to target Prince Harry*
Shia commander claims insurgents have plan to capture royal officer
Ghaith Abdul-Ahad in Basra, Richard Norton-Taylor
Saturday April 28, 2007
The Guardian
Prince Harry will be a prime kidnap target for insurgents in Iraq, a
commander in the Mahdi army, the Shia militia loyal to the radical
cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, has told the Guardian.
"One of our aims is to capture Harry, we have people inside the British
bases to inform us on when he will arrive," claimed Abu Mujtaba, who
commands a unit of around 50 men active in the Mahdi army in Basra.
In comments denounced by British defence sources as "blatant
propaganda", Abu Mujtaba told the Guardian: "We have a special unit that
would work to track him down, with informants inside the bases.
"Not only us, the Mahdi army, that will try to capture him, but every
person who hates the British and the Americans will try to get him, all
the mujahideens in Iraq, the al-Qaida, the Iranians all will try to get
him."
The Guardian has seen evidence that Abu Mujtaba has a number of men
under his command as well as weaponry including rockets, but there is no
independent evidence to substantiate his claims that militias have
infiltrated British bases, or established a unit to target Prince Harry.
Abu Mujtaba continued: "For me he is just a British soldier and he
should be killed if comes to Iraq, but let's be realistic, we can kill
hundreds of British soldiers before forcing them to withdraw - like
what's happening with Americans now - but Harry is a bigger catch and we
will force the British to come on their knees and talk to us."
A senior Iraqi defence ministry official said that militias could
overrun Basra relatively easily because they had successfully
infiltrated local security forces. "When the Brits formed these forces
they depended on these militias for lists of recruits," he said.
Responding to the threats against Prince Harry, a British defence source
said: "This is blatant propaganda from those who aim to tear Iraq apart.
These threats will not prevent British forces from doing their vital
work of building up the Iraqi security forces and helping them to face
down those perpetuating violence against the Iraqi people."
The Ministry of Defence yesterday maintained its previous official line,
that Prince Harry's deployment on a six-month tour to south-eastern Iraq
with his regiment, the Blues and Royals of the Household Cavalry, was
under "constant consideration". It added: "It remains our intention that
Prince Harry will be deployed as a troop leader."
The Blues and Royals are part of a mechanised brigade to be deployed
next month. They will carry out reconnaissance using armoured cars.
Reports that an attack by a roadside bomb on an armoured vehicle in
Maysan province last week that killed two British soldiers was a "dry
run" for an attempt on the prince's life were treated with scepticism
yesterday by senior defence sources. However, it was the first time
British soldiers have been killed in that type of vehicle in
south-eastern Iraq by hostile action and security has been stepped up in
the areas where the Blues and Royals will be based.
Defence officials and military commanders are becoming agitated by the
intense media coverage of Prince Harry's planned deployment. They argue
that it encourages insurgents and militia in Iraq to escalate their
propaganda war as well as increase the risks surrounding the prince's
deployment. Commanders are concerned that the deployment may increase
the threat to all his regimental colleagues, and even to all British
troops in the area.
A final decision whether or not to deploy the prince will be taken by
General Sir Richard Dannatt, the head of the army. While in Iraq, the
prince - known as Cornet Wales - would carry out a troop commander's
role, involving leading a troop of 12 men in four armoured
reconnaissance vehicles, each with a crew of three.
April has been the bloodiest month for British service personnel in
south-eastern Iraq since the invasion four years ago with 11 killed so far.