Three civilians living near a U.S. base were reportedly killed Saturday when a mortar shell fell on their house south of Baghdad, as the U.S. military confirmed reports of unrest at a prison in southern Iraq, DPA reported. The police said three people were killed and two of their relatives injured in the attack apparently targeting a U.S. base in Yusifiya, 30 kilometres south of the Iraqi capital. Meanwhile, a British military spokesman Saturday confirmed a report in Britain's Guardian newspaper of unrest and hunger strikes in a British-run prison in Shaiba, south of Basra. The paper reported Saturday that several prisoners had gone on hunger strike over conditions at the prison. Major Peter Cripps said British soldiers had to use a "minimum amount of force" to guarantee order and security, but that human rights had not been trampled and that the Red Cross regularly inspected the prison. The prisoners are alleged to have taken part in "terrorist activities" in the British-controlled south of the country. Elsewhere, the U.S. military said Saturday that a U.S. operation in Muslakhah Friday resulted in the capture of several suspected terrorists and the seizure of a large cache of ammunition. Workers building an oil pipeline near Muslakhah have come under attack from suspect insurgents recently, according to the military.
