Alpha and Bravo Company

Alpha and Bravo Company, both of 8 Platoon, 1 Para, arrived in Majar al-Kabir at 9:25 am on 24 June with the intention of carrying out foot patrols through the town.^[21] Before leaving, Lieutenant Ross Kennedy (the Officer in Command (OIC) of the two companies) asked for more baton rounds (plastic bullets) for his baton gun. The request was denied as all the spare rounds were packed away before the Parachute Regiment left the area to return to the UK in seven days' time. This left his two patrols (Alpha and Bravo) with only 13 baton rounds. ^[22]At just after 10:00 am local time, the local Iraqi militia commander (Talal Abid Ahmed Zubaida)^[23] drove up to the patrol and stopped them from going further. Zubaida told them that the town was dangerous and that they would be shot at. Lieutenant Kennedy offered to change the route of the patrol, but Zubaida warned him that the route was an issue too and that if he went into the town, it would have to be without Zubaida's militia.^[13] The British managed to negotiate a vehicle-mounted patrol through the town as a compromise with Zubaida. Alpha Company would remain at the Militia headquarters with other vehicles^[24] whilst the Iraqi Militia would accompany Bravo, mounted on Pinzgauers, on a patrol through the town; the British felt that not to have patrolled would be a sign of weakness.^[21] At 10:10 am, Bravo company entered the town and almost immediately were showered with rocks thrown by "smiling locals."^[25]

At 10:25 am, Bravo Company de-bussed as the Iraqis were swarming around them and the ringleaders in the crowd were encouraging the locals to attack Bravo Company. As they de-bussed to throw back the crowd, the rear vehicle noticed that the Iraqi Militia contingent were no longer in the convoy.^[26] Such was the intensity of the rock throwing and the sheer numbers of locals in the crowd, Bravo took the decision to fire rubber bullets at the ringleaders. Although the soldiers were well aware that using rubber bullets could either calm or inflame a situation,^[27] they felt that they had no choice given the intensity of the crowd, who were being told via the loudspeakers on the minarets^[28] that the British were here to "rape the women [and] attack them!"^[29] One of the ringleaders was identified, and a corporal using the baton gun fired and felled the ringleader from 20 feet (6.1 m) away.^[30] After two more baton rounds were fired, the crowd surged forward and the Non-commissioned officer (NCO) of Bravo Company (Sgt Gordon Robertson) fired warning shots into the air from his rifle and other troops followed suit. At this the crowd moved back and allowed them space to move, but it was later realized that the local Iraqis had gone to get their weapons. In their minds, the British had fired first, so it was a matter of pride that they returned fire.^[31] At 10:30 am, Iraqi gunmen would return fire and Bravo would defend themselves with the result of the first Iraqis dying.^[32] One witness in the crowd claimed that children were throwing stones at the Paratroopers and when one of the paratroopers went into a firing position, a local man called Tassir thought a child would be shot, so he levelled his weapon at the paratroopers. The British troops fired on him first as they thought he was going to shoot, and after that, the crowd became completely hostile.^[33] At this point, the RMP patrol was only 200 metres (660 ft) away from the Paratroopers.^[34] Ahmed Younis, a member of the crowd on the morning, said

The market was very crowded. I threw myself on the ground and shouted to everyone to run away or get down. The shooting lasted about five minutes but there were bullets going everywhere. They were firing on automatic. I couldn't believe it when they started shooting.

Sheikh Shejar said

The Iraqi side fired first. Later they went to the police station and attacked there. The mob wanted to shelter at the police station and use it as a base to attack the British.^[35]

Back at the Militia Headquarters, Alpha Company were crouched down behind their vehicles dodging the rocks being thrown at them by an angry crowd.^[36] They were able to distinguish between the sound of rounds being fired from an AK-47 and an SA-80 rifle by their relative pitches.^[37] They realized that Bravo were under fire and returning fire themselves. Without communications, Alpha mounted up and drove into the town having to guess where Bravo would be by the sound of the gunfire.^[38] Alpha came under sustained and heavy fire at a crossroads 100 metres (330 ft) from the police station. Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) under these conditions is to de-bus. The troops from Alpha spread out, with some taking cover under their DAF truck. Despite the short distance and the availability of line of sight, no members of Alpha had seen or recognized the Land Rovers of the RMP patrol at the police station,^[39] though at that point, the Land Rovers may have been moved inside the police station compound.^[40] Alpha suppressed the enemy fire, but the DAF truck needed to be jump-started due to mechanical problems.^{[note 1][41]} With some troops providing cover, the rest of Alpha pushed the truck until it started. They then mounted up and sped north, targeted by gunmen all the way^[42] but managed to reach a point of safety north of the town. They de-bussed and took up defensive positions; the sitrep was phoned in to the Ops Room back at Abu Naji.^[43]

Meanwhile, Bravo were looking for an exit. As they were attacked from the front and had to stop, Sgt Gordon Robertson managed to reach the Ops Room at Camp Abu Naji and relay their situation. At this point Bravo had no casualties, but did need an ammunition re-supply. They were eager to know Alpha Company's location and situation.^[44] During heavy fighting, Bravo lost one of their Pinzgauers to an RPG round which detonated the fuel tank.^[45] A few minutes later, the second Pinzgauer was on fire and Bravo were having to fight through the streets to get to cover.^[46]

Alpha mounted back up at 10:50 am to drive back into town and try to assist Bravo Company. This request had come from the Ops Room and had been worded carefully so as not to sound like an order; only the commander on the ground could assess whether or not Alpha could be of any use.^[47] As they expected, they came under contact with heavy fire almost immediately and they had to de-bus from the DAF truck. An RPG was fired at the truck, but was deflected just in front of the vehicle by an electricity cable.^[48]

At this time (between 11:00 and 11:15 am), Alpha, Bravo and the six RMP personnel were within 400 metres (1,300 ft) of each other, but unable to communicate or group together;^[49] Alpha and Bravo Companies were completely unaware that the RMPs were even in the town and vice versa, even though they had all gone through the same Ops Room that morning.^[24] An Army Air Corps (AAC) Gazelle helicopter was dispatched to act as a re-broadcast unit between Alpha, Bravo and the Ops Room. Critically, it had also been given orders for a fly-over of the police station to determine if the six RMP NCOs were still there.^[50] At 11:05 am, a Chinook with a Quick Reaction Force (QRF) was deployed from Abu Naji to go into Majar al-Kabir and support Bravo Company.^[51]

At about 11:15 am, Bravo entered a house in the town to take cover. The Iraqi family who lived in the house were told to lie on the floor; not because they were hostages, but for their own safety in case anyone outside had seen Bravo entering and tried to shoot into the house.^[52] Alpha were pinned down by effective fire 500 metres (1,600 ft) from the police station on the northern side of town. The Officer in Charge (OIC) of Alpha, Lieutenant Ross Kennedy, was being targeted by a sniper, and so the decision was made to hold until the QRF (Quick Reaction Force) arrived from Abu Naji to help.^[53] Bravo deployed mini-flares on the roof of the house that they were occupying to alert the Chinook to their presence. Unfortunately, because of damage and casualties, the Chinook had to return to Abu Naji. The setting off of the mini-flares did alert the Iraqi gunmen to Bravo's position, who now found themselves having to shoot out of the house at the armed Iraqis clambering over the walls to get to them.^[54] At 11:30 am, Bravo split into two sections so that one section stayed behind and provided covering fire for the other section. They manoeuvred and fired in turn until both sections met up again to form just one. Bravo managed to get clear just as the mob had encircled the house they were in.^[55] Bravo maintained a northwards direction along an irrigation ditch, which slowed them down because of the mud that was sticking to their boots. They could hear the engines of the Scimitars and the Land Rovers of the QRF. Sgt Robertson launched mini-flares to alert the QRF to his position, but he was unable to know if the QRF had seen them. Therefore, Private Freddy Ellis was tasked to cover 400 metres (1,300 ft)^[55] of dead ground between them and the QRF wagons. Ellis stripped off his webbing and ran, zigzagging all the way to the QRF column to relate the position of Bravo Company.^[56]

A Manoeuvre Support Group (MSG) with armed Land Rovers^{[note 2][57]} was dispatched by land from Abu Naji at 11:05 am to set up and Incident Command Post (ICP) on the northern edge of Majar al-Kabir. This done, the column of vehicles sped into town and arrived about 11:38 am.^[58] They came under fire almost immediately from AK-47s, and as they returned fire (using the .50 cal Browning) they noticed Alpha Company in the ditches to their east.^[59] By 12:00 pm, all known soldiers on the ground had been accounted for and an update had been passed to the Ops Room back at Abu Naji. However, at that time, Doctor Firas Fasal, an Iraqi doctor who was working at the hospital in the town, had approached the ICP north of the town to inform the OIC (Major Kemp) that there was four British Hostages in the police station.^[60]

The Chinook and air support

As part of a multi-pronged approach to a rescue, a Chinook helicopter of No. 27 Squadron RAF was mobilised from Abu Naji to Majar al-Kabir with a quick reaction force on board. The helicopter lifted off at 11:05 am and returned to Abu Naji around 11:30 am^{[note 3]} after coming under sustained fire and having at least seven casualties aboard, who were wounded by the insurgent fire.^[51] The helicopter's route into the town meant it had to fly over the rooftops to try and locate Bravo Company who were holed up in one of the houses. Because it flew in at low altitude, it presented a target for small-arms fire and RPGs, with no fewer than six RPGs being fired at it. As the damage to the helicopter was severe and casualties were mounting, the pilot, Wing Commander Guy Van den Berg, decided that safest option was to return to base. The Sergeant in charge of the QRF asked that the helicopter land away from the immediate danger and allow the non-wounded on board to disembark. Van den Berg replied that, if the Chinook landed, it might not get off the ground again.^[61]

When the Chinook arrived back at Abu Naji, the wounded were taken off and some of them, after triaging and emergency first aid, were reloaded onto the Chinook for onward transfer to a more secure medical facility. With its rotors still running, (turning and burning) the RAF ground crew assessed the damage to the airframe. The helicopter had at least 100 holes in its fuselage and one shot had missed the gearbox by less than 3 inches (76 mm); if it had penetrated the gearbox, it would have caused the helicopter to crash.^[62] The cockpit and pilot seats on the helicopter were armour-protected, but the rest of the airframe was not.^[63]

No helicopter gunships were available to assist ground forces. Close air support was limited to two USAF F-15 Eagle aircraft. The two aircraft, returning from another sortie and low on fuel, were carrying 1,000-pound (450 kg) bombs. The Ops Room could not communicate with any Forward Air Controllers (FACs) on the ground, so the two aircraft could only buzz the town, very low and fast. Due to the inability to pinpoint the enemy, dropping the bombs might well have had an extremely detrimental effect on the British troops below.^[64]

The Six RMP

On the morning of 24 June, the six RMP of 156 Provost Company, were in Majar al-Kabir as part of the training programme for the local Iraqi police.^[65] The NCO in charge of the RMP section was Sergeant Simon Hamilton-Jewell, who had informed his Royal Military Police chain of command that he was leaving and where he and his section would be going. Despite a Standing Order that everyone be issued with a satellite phone for communication, Hamilton-Jewell was informed that none were available.^[66] The RMP had gone to Majar al-Kabir to ask why the local police force had not intervened in a stoning two days earlier.^[67] The RMP left Camp Abu Naji at 9:10 am local time^[11][33] and arrived in Majar al-Kabir twenty to thirty minutes later between 9:30 and 9:40 am.^[13] They were due to move on to other locations at Qalat Salih and Al Uzayr (at 14:00 to meet a senior British officer)^[68] before returning to their base around 17:00.^[69] When they arrived at the police station, their Iraqi interpreter was waiting for them and all seemed calm.^[13]

The interpreter, Sergeant (Sgt) Simon Hamilton-Jewell, Corporal (Cpl) Russ Aston and Lance corporal (LCpl) Ben Hyde moved off to the police station leaving Corporal Paul Long, Corporal Simon Miller and Lance Corporal Thomas Keys to stay behind with the vehicles, weapons and body armour.^[70][71] While the RMP were talking in the police station, they heard the gunfire and went outside to investigate. When a crowd had formed and some of them were firing into the air, Sergeant Hamilton-Jewell ordered the Land Rovers into the compound. At this point, some of the Iraqi Police left, promising to find out what was going on, but it was believed that they were planning an escape.^[72] The crowd swelled to between 400 and 600 people^{[65][note 4]} then advanced upon the police station after finding out that British soldiers were there. At this time, the Ops Room at Abu Naji were being informed that the six RMP might still be in Majar al-Kabir by their chain of command. As there had been no communication with the six RMP, it could not be definitely asserted as to where they were.^[73]

In the initial stages of the attack, one of the Land Rovers was set on fire and another was driven away. One of the RMP, Cpl Miller was wounded by small arms fire as they ran for cover inside the police station.^[74] When the situation deteriorated even further, the Iraqi police left the compound through some open windows at the back and in doing so, encouraged the six British policeman to escape too. The Iraqi policemen feared that they would be shot for being traitors and so decided to leave, but the RMP decided the best policy was to stay behind and defend their position while awaiting help. They asked the Iraqis for a radio before they left, but the Iraqi policeman did not have one to give them.^[75] The area around Majar al-Kabir is very flat and as a result, HF and VHF radios do not work well; even within close range, there are dead zones where the signal cannot be accessed. The Paratroopers had PRRs (Personal Role Radios), an Iridium satellite phone and a VHF radio. All the RMP had was a selection of radios in their Land Rovers.^[11]

An Iraqi elder appealed to the gunmen surrounding the station to stop shooting and he went to go inside and was granted access by LCpl Tom Keys. The elder could see that at this point, Cpl Si Miller had multiple wounds and was bleeding badly. Despite wanting to be the mediator, he was advised to leave by the gunmen in the crowd.

"You have to leave; we want to kill the soldiers." (Unidentified gunman)

"But the trouble is not to do with them; it is not of their making." (Iraqi elder)

"If you do not leave, you will be killed as well."(Unidentified gunman)^[76]

During the attack, an Iraqi doctor who was next door to the police station was alerted to the fact of the six RMP being under siege and drove to the edge of town in an ambulance where a major from 1 Para had established an Incident Control Point (ICP). He informed the Paratroopers of the RMP plight at about midday local time and conveyed to the Paratroopers that the RMP were being held hostage. At 12:30 pm, Dr. Fasal returned to the ICP and informed Major Kemp that three of the British were dead. By now, with all 1 Para troops accounted for, the staff in the Ops Room were wondering who they could be and realized that they must be the six-man RMP section.^[77] By the time the doctor had returned to the police station, all of the RMP were dead, and for a third time, he returned to the checkpoint with the bad news.^[78] Later, Dr. Fasal brought all of the bodies out to the checkpoint and handed them over to the British.^[79]

At 13:40, Lieutenant Colonel Beckett ordered all troops to withdraw from the town. With all soldiers accounted for and the bodies recovered, Beckett decided to stop the fighting.^[80]

Post battle

All of the bodies returned were loaded onto an ambulance and identified by the lieutenant in charge of the RMP detachment at Abu Naji. Each body had at least 30 wounds; not only had whole magazines been emptied into the men, but they had also suffered rifle butts to the face and body and some had stomp wounds.^[81]

Many things went wrong with the operation that came to light afterwards, such as the RMP only having 50 rounds each, when the minimum should have been 150. In the post-invasion time, it was not only their ammunition that had been de-scaled; the RMP had no morphine and no smoke grenades either. A smoke grenade might have alerted the passing helicopters to their position.^[82] They did not have an Iridium satellite phone to call out of the area and, because of a lack of intelligence and information sharing, the Paratroopers and the RMP were unaware of each others' location.^[83] Accusations that the Paras had left the RMP behind were denied in the press by senior commanders just days after the event.^[15]

Dr. Fasal was one of the few Iraqis who had expressed remorse about the situation.

It was a tragedy. No one here is happy about what happened. I told the British soldiers the people who killed your men are animals and not all the people of Majar al-Kabir are like that. It does not mean that all the people here hate the British.^[84]

Soldiers aboard the Chinook helicopter were taken back to their base with at least two needing medical evacuation to the No. 202 Field Hospital before being moved to an American medical care facility in Kuwait. Paratrooper Damien 'Pebbles' Mason received a life-changing wound to his right temple that left him epileptic and unable to continue serving as a soldier.^[85][86][87]

On learning that the six RMP were dead, Lieutenant Colonel Tom Beckett, officer commanding 1 Para, ordered the withdrawal of troops from the town. This was vastly unpopular with the troops on the ground and earned him several derogatory nicknames.^[88] Later, many troops realised that he was in a 'lose-lose' situation. If Beckett had allowed the soldiers to go back in again, there would have been many more deaths on both sides and, as one soldier acknowledged, "he would have ended up sacked if he'd let us [back] in there that day".^[89] The decision not to go in and recover the bodies, but to allow the Iraqi doctor to deliver them to 1 Para, was commended by the Army Board of Inquiry as correct and prevented further losses on both sides.^[90] 1 Para were criticized for not going in and rescuing the RMP, but at the inquest, Lieutenant Kennedy stated that no-one on the ground in Majar al-Kabir was aware of their presence until they were informed of their location by Dr. Fasal and quite soon after he had returned to inform them of their [the RMP] deaths.^[91]