thedrifter
04-17-03, 08:38 AM
From BOB GRAHAM in Baghdad
and NICK PARKER in Al Faw
ROYAL Marines were racing against time last night to free prisoners believed to have been buried alive by Saddam Hussein’s fleeing forces.
Engineers were called in after officers heard scratching beneath the plinth of a wrecked statue of the tyrant in Al Faw.
Locals said they had seen two coachloads of prisoners being sealed in a secret chamber under the site.
A similar search was being carried out in another town where around 30 people were feared to have been cemented inside an underground vault.
The Marines launched their operation in Al Faw, close to Iraq’s southernmost tip.
They used pneumatic drills and a bulldozer in an attempt to break through a yard-thick layer of concrete thought to have been poured into a stairwell leading to the dungeon.
Scratching noises from below had been heard during silent pauses ordered in the work.
Lieut Col Simon Wolsey, of 29 Commando Royal Artillery, which called in the digging teams, said: “I definitely heard something. A medic who was with us used his stethoscope and confirmed he heard noise.
“Locals are adamant they saw coachloads of possibly Kuwaiti prisoners from the last war being brought here before Coalition forces arrived.”
Men from 59 Commando Engineers worked in shifts inside the 30ft-high hollow plinth.
Others tried to bulldoze their way in from outside.
Staff Sgt George Lamplough, 35, said: “I’ve just worked 12 hours solid trying to get through the concrete.”
Meanwhile in Al Amarah north of Basra hundreds of Iraqis, aided by British troops, tried to reach a group of opponents of Saddam’s regime they believed had been incarcerated.
Locals said they had heard screams for help. One would-be rescuer, Mohammed Tareq, 37, claimed the captives had been forced into an underground bunker in shackles before the entrance was concreted over.
He added: “We will not stop until they are recovered — whether that be dead or alive.”
Crowds around him tried to smash their way in using pickaxes and sledgehammers. But Tareq admitted: “As each hour passes we grow less hopeful we will find them alive.”
Intelligence sources claimed last night that Saddam was betrayed by his commanders.
It was said they were bribed to surrender by America in the second week of the war. They were paid huge sums and given safe passage out of Iraq.
It meant the Americans could take Baghdad last week with minimal resistance. One of the Iraqi commanders was thought to be General Maher Sufyan, who told his Republican Guard forces to give up and go home.
The people of Baghdad began the slow process of resuming their normal lives yesterday — amid traffic jams.
US troops have asked police, medical workers and key staff to get critical services running.
Residents were warned not to leave their homes at night for fear of attacks by stragglers from Saddam’s militia.
US President George Bush refused yesterday to declare victory in Iraq until the last resistance had been destroyed.
He said: “Victory in Iraq is certain — but it is not complete.”
Additional Reporting: CHRIS BUCKTIN,
News of the World
Sempers,
Roger
http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-2003171402,00.html
and NICK PARKER in Al Faw
ROYAL Marines were racing against time last night to free prisoners believed to have been buried alive by Saddam Hussein’s fleeing forces.
Engineers were called in after officers heard scratching beneath the plinth of a wrecked statue of the tyrant in Al Faw.
Locals said they had seen two coachloads of prisoners being sealed in a secret chamber under the site.
A similar search was being carried out in another town where around 30 people were feared to have been cemented inside an underground vault.
The Marines launched their operation in Al Faw, close to Iraq’s southernmost tip.
They used pneumatic drills and a bulldozer in an attempt to break through a yard-thick layer of concrete thought to have been poured into a stairwell leading to the dungeon.
Scratching noises from below had been heard during silent pauses ordered in the work.
Lieut Col Simon Wolsey, of 29 Commando Royal Artillery, which called in the digging teams, said: “I definitely heard something. A medic who was with us used his stethoscope and confirmed he heard noise.
“Locals are adamant they saw coachloads of possibly Kuwaiti prisoners from the last war being brought here before Coalition forces arrived.”
Men from 59 Commando Engineers worked in shifts inside the 30ft-high hollow plinth.
Others tried to bulldoze their way in from outside.
Staff Sgt George Lamplough, 35, said: “I’ve just worked 12 hours solid trying to get through the concrete.”
Meanwhile in Al Amarah north of Basra hundreds of Iraqis, aided by British troops, tried to reach a group of opponents of Saddam’s regime they believed had been incarcerated.
Locals said they had heard screams for help. One would-be rescuer, Mohammed Tareq, 37, claimed the captives had been forced into an underground bunker in shackles before the entrance was concreted over.
He added: “We will not stop until they are recovered — whether that be dead or alive.”
Crowds around him tried to smash their way in using pickaxes and sledgehammers. But Tareq admitted: “As each hour passes we grow less hopeful we will find them alive.”
Intelligence sources claimed last night that Saddam was betrayed by his commanders.
It was said they were bribed to surrender by America in the second week of the war. They were paid huge sums and given safe passage out of Iraq.
It meant the Americans could take Baghdad last week with minimal resistance. One of the Iraqi commanders was thought to be General Maher Sufyan, who told his Republican Guard forces to give up and go home.
The people of Baghdad began the slow process of resuming their normal lives yesterday — amid traffic jams.
US troops have asked police, medical workers and key staff to get critical services running.
Residents were warned not to leave their homes at night for fear of attacks by stragglers from Saddam’s militia.
US President George Bush refused yesterday to declare victory in Iraq until the last resistance had been destroyed.
He said: “Victory in Iraq is certain — but it is not complete.”
Additional Reporting: CHRIS BUCKTIN,
News of the World
Sempers,
Roger
http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-2003171402,00.html