British troops on standby to back Iraqi forces in Amara

0 Comments | AFP, October, 2006

LONDON (AFP) — British troops are on standby to help Iraqi forces in the southern city of Amara, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) in London has said, after street battles there left 18 people dead. "A reserve battalion of Iraqi police has been deployed (in Amara)," an MoD spokeswoman said Friday. "Multinational forces are ready to act in support of security forces if required." British forces pulled out of Amara in August, handing over responsibility for security in the city to Iraqi troops.

But since Thursday night 18 people have been killed and almost 100 people wounded in clashes between police and hundreds of armed fighters from the Mahdi Army of radical Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr. Sadr's fighters destroyed police stations and clashed with officers, leading Sadr to send...