British seamen back at base

2004-06-25 20:51

Basra - Eight British servicemen arrived back in southern Iraq on Friday following a humiliating ordeal at the hands of Iran's hardline Revolutionary Guards who detained them when their patrol boats strayed into Iranian waters.

British officials said the six marines and two sailors were in good spirits despite their three-day detention in Iran, during which they were paraded blindfold on television and forced to publicly apologise.

All eight were said to be in good health, if a little tired after the long overnight flight from Tehran via Dubai and Kuwait City.

"They were in a good mood," a British spokesperson said.

"They obviously needed a good kip and would doubtless relish some of the food back at camp, but otherwise they were absolutely fine."

The spokesperson said the eight servicemen appeared to have been well cared for by the Iranians, despite the obvious strain.

"Considering they had obviously been through a stressful time, they all looked quite well.

"None of them gave any indication of being hungry, none of them complained they had been left without food or water. They had clearly been treated properly."

Commanders said the team, which had been taking a boat back to Basra after repairs in the port of Umm Qasr when they were detained on the Shatt al-Arab waterway that divides southern Iraq from Iran, were expected to return to "normal duties" soon.

The team has been training Iraqis to patrol the country's waterways to keep out smugglers and militants seeking to infiltrate Iraq to fight against the US-led coalition.

"They have been taken to the Shaibah Logistics base, near Basrah, where they will receive a medical check-up and be allowed some time to rest and adjust before being de-briefed to establish the full series of events since they left Umm Qasr on Monday," a statement said.

During their stopover in Dubai, one of the eight said that they had been treated "with respect" by the Iranians, despite the furore in the British press over television footage taken during their captivity.

During the course of their detention, they were shown on state television being marched around in circles with grubby white rags as blindfolds and also making confessions and offering apologies for their "mistake".

- SAPA