British soldiers accused of 'gratuitous' attack on Iraqi civilians

Seven soldiers have been accused of killing an 18-year-old Iraqi man, during a “gratuitous” attack on a group of civilians.

The seven soldiers from the 3rd Battalion of the Parachute Regiment – three of whom are no longer in the Army – are charged with the murder of Nadhem Abdullah and violent disorder.

Martin Heslop QC told the military court at Colchester, Essex, that the soldiers had assaulted a number of unarmed civilians in the village of Al U’Zayra, southern Iraq on May 11, 2003.

Mr Heslop said that the attack, which he said took place three weeks after the “formal cessation” of hostilities, had involved rifle butts, helmets and fists. He told the court that the soldiers had “brutally assaulted a number of unarmed Iraqi civilians, causing serious injuries from which one died.”

The seven accused – Corporal Scott Evans, 32, Private Billy Nerney, 24, Private Samuel May, 25 and Private Morne Vosloo, 26 and former privates Daniel Harding, 25, Roberto Di-Gregorio, 24 and Scott Jackson, 26 – have denied the charges.

The trial is expected to last for around two months.

(KMcA/SP)