MoD 'was worried about lack of interrogators ahead of Iraq war' (UK)
A lack of trained interrogators caused concern at the Ministry of Defence ahead of the Iraq war because of fears that it would increase the risk of detainee abuse, an inquiry into the death of an Iraqi man in military custody heard today.
There were no soldiers qualified in tactical questioning in the regiment at the centre of allegations of mistreatment of ten detainees, including Baha Mousa, who died after suffering 93 separate injuries, the public inquiry was told.
A Ministry of Defence memo dated March 2002 said: “The lack of prisoner handling and tactical questioning-trained personnel within deployed force elements risks the loss of potentially accurate, timely and life-saving information/intelligence during our fighting operations ... The less well-trained our troops are, the greater the chance that they may mishandle prisoners.”
The inquiry is looking into the circumstances that led to Mr Mousa’s death in September 2003 and the alleged abuse of nine other detainees by troops from the former Queen’s Lancashire Regiment (1QLR).
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There were no soldiers qualified in tactical questioning in the regiment at the centre of allegations of mistreatment of ten detainees, including Baha Mousa, who died after suffering 93 separate injuries, the public inquiry was told.
A Ministry of Defence memo dated March 2002 said: “The lack of prisoner handling and tactical questioning-trained personnel within deployed force elements risks the loss of potentially accurate, timely and life-saving information/intelligence during our fighting operations ... The less well-trained our troops are, the greater the chance that they may mishandle prisoners.”
The inquiry is looking into the circumstances that led to Mr Mousa’s death in September 2003 and the alleged abuse of nine other detainees by troops from the former Queen’s Lancashire Regiment (1QLR).