UK Troops Accused of Executing Iraqis

British soldiers killed up to 20 Iraqi captives after a 2004 firefight, say lawyers representing five men taken prisoner that day, the BBC reports. The men—described by their lawyers as laborers, not insurgents—say they heard UK soldiers killing and torturing captives at a British base after the gun battle. The lawyers say soldiers also mutilated corpses. British defense officials deny the allegations.

"I believed people were being killed," said one of the men. "I have never heard anything like that sound ever before in my life." The British defense ministry said a 10-month investigation failed to find evidence to support the accusations. The lawyers, however, say witness accounts, photos, and videos tell a different story. They are filing suit and called on Scotland Yard to launch its own investigation. (More Mahdi Army stories.)