Lawyers claimed Friday that British troops in Iraq may have "executed" up to 20 Iraqi civilians in a clash in southern Iraq in 2004, according to dpa. The allegations were based on a "dossier of evidence" from the men taken captive after a gun battle near the southern Iraqi town of Majat-al-Kabir in May, 2004, lawyers Phil Shiner and Martyn Day said. The evidence also suggested that prisoners were tortured and "mutilated by UK military," they alleged. The Ministry of Defence in London strongly denied the claims, to be made in a BBC Panorama TV documentary Monday. A BBC spokesman said the evidence presented did not supply proof that prisoners had died. "Panorama has spent over a year talking to battlefield survivors, medical staff and Iraqi former prisoners in Iraq, Turkey and Jordan," said a BBC spokesman. The programme had "critically examined" claims made by lawyers who are representing the Iraqis in their action against the British Government. "Of all the allegations they make, the programme concludes that the evidence is strongest that prisoners were mistreated," said the spokesman. "Panorama has seen no proof that prisoners died at the hands of their captors." The allegations were first reported within weeks of the incident, known as the Battle of Danny Boy, named after the checkpoint where it took place. In London Friday, lawyers for five Iraqis today issued detailed witness statements, photographs of corpses and death certificates of the men who died. "We would be very surprised if it did not shock the nation," Shiner said. He acknowledged the bulk of the evidence relied on the men's interpretation of what they heard while blindfolded, and that no post-mortem examinations had taken place on the bodies of the 20 dead. But on the basis of current evidence he believed his clients were telling the truth. "It may be that none of this happened," said Shiner. We need a public inquiry to establish the facts." An MoD spokesman said: "Allegations of mistreatment, unlawful killing and mutilation by British troops following an incident at Vehicle Checkpoint Danny Boy were thoroughly investigated by the RMP" (Royal Military Police). "Their investigation lasted 10 months, involved the interviewing of over 150 British personnel and 50 Iraqi nationals, and found no evidence to support these allegations."
