UK forces kill seven in raid on Iraqi police unit

Basra: British forces killed seven gunmen and blew up the headquarters of the police serious crimes unit in southern Basra yesterday in a raid to rescue prisoners who were about to be executed, the British military said.

Calling the police station a centre of "criminal enterprise" and a symbol of oppression for the city's residents, the military said the building was demolished with explosives after a pre-dawn assault by around 1,000 troops backed by tanks.

Many of its 127 prisoners, all suspected criminals, were found crowded into a small cell, living in "appalling conditions", the military said. Many had crushed feet or hands and gunshot wounds to the knee.

British army spokesman Captain Tane Dunlop said the unit had been taking the law into its own hands.

Shiite militias vying for control of the city are suspected of infiltrating police in Basra.

Arrest of diplomats

Iraq's President Jalal Talabani yesterday protested the arrest by US forces of two Iranian diplomats who US officials say were seized in raids against Iranians suspected of planning attacks on Iraqi security forces.

In Tehran, the Foreign Ministry said the "move ... will provoke unpleasant repercussions". Gordon Johndroe, spokesman for the US National Security Council, told the New York Times the diplomats were released.