Posted on 06/24/2006 6:57:16 PM PDT by blam
Army wives get phone death threats from Iraq
By Sean Rayment, Defence Correspondent
(Filed: 25/06/2006)
Wives and family members of soldiers fighting in Iraq have received telephone calls, believed to include death threats, from insurgents, according to military documents seen by The Sunday Telegraph.
The "nuisance" calls have been made with increasing frequency over the past few weeks after insurgents managed to obtain home numbers from soldiers' mobile telephones.
The growing number of calls has led to an investigation by the Royal Military Police, which has issued a warning to all soldiers in Iraq to take great care when using mobile telephones to call home.
The extent of the problem emerged in a restricted Army document issued to soldiers of the London Regiment, a Territorial Army unit, which has soldiers from its ranks serving in Iraq.
The document warns soldiers preparing to take part in operations that insurgents in southern Iraq have managed to obtain the home telephone numbers of soldiers by using electronic intercept devices to hack into mobile phone systems.
It is understood that the threats range from claims that a husband or son is dead or will be killed fighting in Iraq, to verbal abuse. Many of those who have received calls say that they were made by people with a poor command of English or with a Middle Eastern accent.
The military document states that there have been "many instances in the last weeks of relatives and friends of personnel serving abroad on operations getting nuisance phone calls" from Iraq.
It adds: "Investigations indicate that the 'callers' of these nuisance calls have acquired the numbers from personnel using their own mobiles to phone. This is fairly easy using today's technology. It makes no difference whether the mobile is of UK origin or sourced abroad.
The MoD is keen to establish the extent of these nuisance calls, to determine whether there is a pattern to them. All ranks are to be aware of the possibility of receiving nuisance calls if using mobiles to phone home."
Since the start of the war in Iraq, a number of high profile soldiers are believed to have received death threats from opponents of the war.
Cpl Mark Byles, who won the Military Cross in 2004 after leading members of the 1st Bn of the Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment in a bayonet charge, received a death threat after his story appeared in the press. Abu Baker Mansha was later sentenced to eight years imprisonment for plotting to kill the soldier.
The Ministry of Defence confirmed that families of soldiers serving in Iraq had received "nuisance calls", including people calling the homes of soldiers from Iraq then hanging up.
The spokesman said: "We would not describe this as sinister. We have no evidence of anyone receiving any death threats."
I imagine there are lots of Iraqis who would love to tell the British what they think of them.
It is interesting that this has happened in Basra, not elsewhere. I see an Iranian touch to the equipment provided to intercept the calls and get numbers.
Calls can be traced.
Let me find out they're doing it here... phone records, their list of numbers called...
If one of the clowns here try to touch a military dependent, anyone who even breathes wrong will be cut down. Trust me, they don't want to go there, here.
Later for camps... deport and NO visas, borders locked down, business be damned. (As if)
Thank God for the second amendment.
All I need is a reason...
Thanks for posting... I'll investigate our side.
This kind of thing will get worse.
At some point with our casualness about identities the Muslims will start targeting families and certain veterans.
At least in the 80s the SAS were surprised at how open some of the American Special Ops people were, wearing "Death From Above" t-shirts, and wearing their uniforms with insignia to and from work.
I've noticed articles as late as yesterday where journalists embedded with troops have been naming, giving their rank and identifying their home towns of military personnel on missions.
IMO, this should not be happening.
"I fear you are right...and this stuff will just be more common."
You know how it works, once it gets started it will become an easy and personal way for every little domestic terrorist group to deliver the goods without a huge investment of effort or risk.
ping
Just Great!....another thing to worry about...
We need to watch for this kind of crap from the morons here. And I'll bet you a $100 note that it WON'T be a terrorist, but a lefty that tries it.
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