BASRA, Jan 24: Hundreds of British and Danish troops staged early morning raids on the homes of Iraqi policemen in Basra on Tuesday in an operation to root out ‘rogue elements’ of the police force.

A British military spokesman, Major Peter Cripps, said the policemen were detained in connection with corruption and a number of unsolved murders in the city.

He said 14 people had been detained in the operation including ‘influential’ members of the Basra police force’s serious crimes and internal affairs units and the criminal investigation agency. Nine had since been released.

“They are believed to be following their own agenda, including corruption, assassination and the persecution of Basra citizens,” he said.

He said the aim of the operation by 400 British and 150 Danish soldiers had been to remove ‘rogue elements’ of Basra’s police force and improve its capability so that it commanded the respect of local residents.

Last month, Britain’s military commander in Iraq, Major General Jim Dutton, alleged Iraqi police in southern Iraq had been infiltrated by sectarian militia and that steps were being taken to root them out.

British forces have been repeatedly attacked by roadside bombs in recent months, although there was a lull around the Dec 15 parliamentary elections.

On Tuesday, 20 high school children were wounded when a bomb targeting a British military patrol exploded as they left the school grounds after writing mid-term exams.

Last week two American security contractors were killed in the city when their convoy was blown up by a roadside bomb.

Iraq’s south is largely controlled by religious parties that maintain their own militia, especially the Badr Brigade loyal to the Shia Islamist SCIRI party and the Mehdi Army loyal to radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr.

In October, British troops seized 12 men, including some policemen, on suspicion of involvement in attacks on foreign troops. The previous month, a British tank was used on a Basra jail to free two special forces soldiers taken prisoner.

Further north, US commanders have also voiced concerns about the loyalties of police in Baghdad and elsewhere, where Shia militias also have strong links with the security forces. —Reuters