Iran’s attacks on US put British troops at high risk of becoming ‘collateral damage’
CONCERNS have been raised for British soldiers in Iraq, with fears military personnel could become "collateral damage" in Iranian attacks targeting US troops.
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An expert in weapons of mass destruction has said he is “very concerned for the operational safety” of the 400 UK military personnel stationed in Iraq, some of whom last week came under fire from Iran in the wake of Qassem Soleimani’s assassination. Dr Dan Plesch’s warning comes after a commander in Iran’s Quds force, which General Soleimani had led before his death, said his faction would retaliate against the Americans “without any concern about killing its allies, including UK troops”. Dr Plesch told Express.co.uk: “I think I would be very concerned for the operational safety of British troops.
“On the one hand, the Iraqi government coalition needs the coalition to keep Sunni and Shia extremists at bay - they need outside help to do that.
“And one of the impacts of this assassination has been to cause across Iraq, an uproar of protests on both Sunni and Shia sides against a violation of Iraqi sovereignty.
“The Americans have told the Iraqis ‘we’re not going’. Now, you can argue that’s for stability but that then can become military occupation.
“If the government says ‘go’ and you say ‘we’re staying’ at that point you take your chances.”
Dr Plesch, director of the Centre for International Studies and Diplomacy at SOAS, spoke out after 200 British troops in Camp Taji came under fire.
No group has claimed responsibility for firing Katyusha rockets at the site, which did not injure any UK personnel or their US counterparts.
But while Iran appears to have drawn back from direct confrontation with the US following its missile attacks on al-Asad base on January 8, Dr Plesch said the war of words between Washington and Tehran could boil over.
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He concluded attacks at the hands of the Islamic Republic’s proxies are “more than likely” to happen as a result of General Soleimani’s death.
He said he had “no doubt” Tehran would use insurgents in Iraq to “judiciously increase” its “ability to sow low-level mischief in very large parts of the world”.
Because the Iranians operate with a “siege mentality” and know “they are outnumbered and outgunned” when faced with the US, they could look to militants to inflict damage on their behalf.
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Hamas in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon-based Hezbollah are some of the insurgent groups the Iranians could use to stage attacks on the West, said Dr Plesch.
He also questioned if Boris Johnson, whom he called “smart but lazy”, was the best person to be making crucial decisions about the safety of troops.
“We all support our men and women in the forces and wish them well but the old phrase ‘lions led by donkeys’ comes to mind,” he said.
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“Hopefully, they are operationally secure, we don’t know the details.
“But the reality is that the Western military have been defeated in two wars, in Iraq and in Afghanistan, and no one really wants to admit that.
“We went to Helmand, we had to leave Helmand. We went to Iraq, we had to leave Iraq.”
He added: “So I am sure that the British military are very concerned. I think the level of political and operational incompetence is very hard for outsiders to appreciate.”
This week The Telegraph quoted a Western official as saying the West’s military presence in Iraq is set to be scaled down.
The measures are said to be part of a compromise deal with the Iraqis after the country’s parliament voted to boot out American soldiers.
The source said: “While Iran and the US want to de-escalate, the unknown factor is the Shia militias, who are independent.
“There is a concern that they could take matters into their own hands and start killing Americans. The problem is that since the death of Soleimani and Muhandis, nobody is quite sure who is controlling them.”