Battle of Danny Boy
| Battle of Danny Boy | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Post-invasion Iraq | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 United Kingdom |
 Mahdi Army | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| Unknown | ~100 | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| Some wounded[1] | 28 killed[1] | ||||||
The Battle of Danny Boy took place at Al Amara in Iraq on 14 May 2004, between British soldiers and about 100 Iraqi insurgents, members of the Mahdi Army. The battle is named after a local British checkpoint called Danny Boy.[2]
Battle
The insurgents ambushed a patrol of Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders close to a checkpoint known as Danny Boy near Majar Al Kabir.[1] The Argylls called in reinforcements from the 1st Battalion of the Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment, they were also ambushed and due to an electronic communications failure it was some time before further British relief arrived. While waiting for reinforcements the British were involved in one of the fiercest engagements they fought in Iraq. The fighting involving close-quarter rifle fire and bayonets.[3][4] The fighting lasted for about three hours during which the British Army reported that 28 Iraqis were killed, and that the British suffered some wounded but that none were killed in the action.[1]
Aftermath
Sergeant Brian Wood, of the Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment was awarded the Military Cross for his part in the battle.[4]
On 25 November 2009, Bob Ainsworth, then the British Minister of State for the Armed Forces, after high court judges found that the MoD had made "serious breaches" of its duty, announced that a retired High Court judge Sir Thayne Forbes would chair the Al-Sweady Inquiry into allegations that 20 Iraqis, taken prisoner during the battle, were murdered and that others were tortured. The British Ministry of Defence denies that the 20 were captured, but that 20 bodies were removed from the battlefield for identification and then returned to the families and that a further nine were taken prisoner and held for questioning but were not mistreated.[5][6] In March 2013, Christopher Stanley of the UK-based Rights Watch group said that MoD is trying to get away with grave human rights violations – including killing – without punishment or due process of law.[7]
On 4 March 2013 the hearings of the Al-Sweady Public Inquiry opened in London.[8] On 20 March 2014 public interest lawyers acting for the families of the dead Iraqis announced that they were withdrawing the allegations against British soldiers.[9] They accepted that there was no evidence that the dead Iraqis had been alive when taken into the British compound.[9]
Notes
- ^ a b c d Sweeny 2008, Panorama.
- ^ (Wyatt 2009).
- ^ Telegraph staff 2009.
- ^ a b Wyatt 2009.
- ^ Brown 2010.
- ^ Times staff 2009.
- ^ Russia Today staff 2013.
- ^ French 2013.
- ^ a b British soldiers did not murder Iraqis in Battle of Danny Boy, families now accept telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 21 March, 2014.
References
- Brown, David (21 November 2010). "Army faces inquiry over 'Battle of Danny Boy' torture claims". The Times.
{{cite news}}: Invalid|ref=harv(help) - French, Cecilia; The Inquiry Secretariat (2013). "Al-Sweady Public Enquiry: FAQ". Al-Sweady Public Inquiry secretariat and hosted by the Ministry of Defence. Retrieved July 2013.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help) - Sweeny, John (25 February 2008). "On whose orders?". Panorama, BBC.
{{cite news}}: Invalid|ref=harv(help) (transcript). - Telegraph staff (28 November 2009). "Iraq report: 'Pathetic' radio failings put troops at risk". Daily Telegraph.
{{cite news}}: Invalid|ref=harv(help) - Times staff (25 November 2009). "Inquiry announced into 'Battle of Danny Boy' Iraq abuse claims". Time Online.
{{cite news}}: Invalid|ref=harv(help) - Wyatt, Caroline (28 April 2009). "UK combat operations end in Iraq". BBC.
{{cite news}}: Invalid|ref=harv(help) - Russia Today staff (5 March 2013). "UK inquiry into Iraqi prisoner deaths reveals evidence of 'torture'". Russia Today.
{{cite news}}: Invalid|ref=harv(help)
Further reading
- Norton-Taylor, Richard; Cobain, Ian (12 November 2010). "British colonel keeps rank despite being branded 'unreliable witness'". guardian.co.uk.