Iraqi suicide bomber who surrendered
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The elderly Iraqi man walked gingerly towards the checkpoint set up by Royal Marines on the outskirts of Basra. As he got closer to the troops they warily fixed their gun barrels on the shuffling figure in front of them. Holding his hands in the air he shouted out in English: "Please, please. Surrender, surrender."
The man was arrested and checked for more weapons.As I watched the man, in his 60s and dressed in flowing robes and head dress, he looked like just another frightened Iraqi trying to give himself up to the British.
Then he dropped six grenades on the floor.
One by one they fell from his Arabic tunic, clattering to the ground. All hell broke loose as I, and dozens of others in the area, dived for cover. For a few seconds it was still - the grenades hadn't gone off, the pins remained intact.
.......Later the fisherman's tragic story emerged.
He told Marine commanders how he had been forced at gunpoint by Fedayeen militia to stage a suicide attack against their base. Living alone, and with no family, they had deemed him a perfect choice to carry out their attack.
"The [Fedayeen] special operations team said I had three choices, they kill me, the British kill me, or I kill myself," the man, who wished only to be identified as Abdullah, said.
The elderly Iraqi man walked gingerly towards the checkpoint set up by Royal Marines on the outskirts of Basra. As he got closer to the troops they warily fixed their gun barrels on the shuffling figure in front of them. Holding his hands in the air he shouted out in English: "Please, please. Surrender, surrender."
The man was arrested and checked for more weapons.As I watched the man, in his 60s and dressed in flowing robes and head dress, he looked like just another frightened Iraqi trying to give himself up to the British.
Then he dropped six grenades on the floor.
One by one they fell from his Arabic tunic, clattering to the ground. All hell broke loose as I, and dozens of others in the area, dived for cover. For a few seconds it was still - the grenades hadn't gone off, the pins remained intact.
.......Later the fisherman's tragic story emerged.
He told Marine commanders how he had been forced at gunpoint by Fedayeen militia to stage a suicide attack against their base. Living alone, and with no family, they had deemed him a perfect choice to carry out their attack.
"The [Fedayeen] special operations team said I had three choices, they kill me, the British kill me, or I kill myself," the man, who wished only to be identified as Abdullah, said.
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