Honor Killing Dad: 'Daughter Deserved Death'

(NEWSER) - British troops called Iraqi detainees "apes," beat them so that their moans of pain sounded like an "orchestrated choir," and forced them to dance like Michael Jackson, a public inquiry into the death of one of the detainees heard yesterday. The inquiry panel was told that Baha Mousa, a hotel worker, died from 93 injuries inflicted over 36 hours in British custody during the 2003 incident, the Telegraph reports. More»

She had left husband after he murdered their daughter

(NEWSER) - The ex-wife of an Iraqi man who beat, choked, and stabbed their 17-year-old daughter to death over an innocent crush on a British soldier has been gunned down, the Guardian reports. Leila Hussein had been staying in a series of safe houses while arrangements were being made to flee the country. She was shot to death by three men in a car as aid workers walked her to a taxi that would have taken her to Jordan. More»

She was suffocated and stabbed after falling for Brit soldier

(NEWSER) - Iraqi authorities will not press charges against a father who murdered his 17-year-old daughter for falling in love with a British soldier because it was an "honor killing," reports the Guardian. The father stood on the girl's neck and stabbed her last month after he learned she was attracted to a soldier distributing relief supplies in Basra. The father was arrested, but later released. "Not much can be done when we have an honor killing," explained a police sergeant. More»

Record compensation for teen shot by dropped rifle

(NEWSER) - Britain's Ministry of Defense has agreed to pay $4 million in compensation to an Iraqi boy accidentally shot by a British soldier, the Guardian reports. The boy, now 17, is paralyzed from severe spinal injuries inflicted when the soldier dropped his rifle at a Basra base in 2003. He is receiving round-the-clock care in Britain and will never be able to return to Iraq. More»

Officers and men fled or balked as government battled militias

(NEWSER) - Desertions from Iraqi forces during last week's Basra battles have raised fresh doubts about the effectiveness of the country's US-trained security forces, the New York Times reports. Over 1,000 soldiers and policemen—including dozens of officers—either deserted or refused to fight. The US has linked American troop withdrawals to the readiness of Iraqi forces to take charge. More»