*Ø* Blogmanac | British soldiers questioned over Iraqi PoW deaths
The role of British troops in Iraq came under further scrutiny today amid two fresh allegations of mistreatment of Iraqi prisoners of war. In the most serious case of its kind so far, the Ministry of Defence has announced an inquiry into the deaths of two Iraqi prisoners in British custody.

The military police's special investigation branch have questioned British soldiers in Iraq over the deaths, the MoD confirmed today. The two civilians were being held by the Black Watch at a detention centre in Basra when they died, according to reports quoting relatives of British troops. "There is an investigation by the special investigation branch," said a spokeswoman for the MoD. "Any death in custody is looked into as a matter of course."

The latest allegations emerged just days after military police questioned a British soldier in custody over photographs which allegedly showed troops torturing Iraqi PoWs. Photograph developers in Staffordshire called police after they became concerned about a number of pictures on a roll of film handed in to their shop for processing. One of the images allegedly showed an Iraqi PoW gagged and bound and hanging in netting from a forklift truck driven by a British soldier.

A further special investigation branch investigation is also under way into Colonel Tim Collins, who led the Royal Irish regiment in Iraq, over allegations by a US reserve officer that he mistreated Iraqis.

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