Army wives being targeted by Iraqi insurgents
By REBECCA CAMBER, Daily Mail
25th June 2006
The wives of British soldiers have been targeted by threatening phone calls and emails
Wives of British troops fighting in Iraq are being terrorised by threatening home phone calls from insurgents, secret military papers reveal.
Army intelligence experts claim that terror groups are tapping into soldier's mobile phone records and downloading the home phone numbers of their wives and families in the UK.
There have been reports of a number of relatives and friends of soldiers in Iraq getting calls in the middle of the night threatening that a son or husband will be killed.
In one message, a terrorist is understood to have said: "You will never see your husband again... he's dead".
At least 20 telephone calls have been reported in the last month which intelligence officers have traced back to Iraq.
The threats are thought to range from verbal abuse to death threats and some callers simply hang up.
Many who have received calls claim that they were made by people with a Middle Eastern accent who spoke in broken English.
Yesterday Defence Secretary Des Browne promised to investigate the matter, saying: "Some of the families of those who are serving in Iraq have been receiving what has been described as nuisance calls.
"From my point of view all of those need to be formally investigated. If there is some underlying malicious intent, that will be investigated."
According to secret military documents issued to soldiers of the London Regiment, a Territorial Army unit which has soldiers serving in Iraq, the "nuisance" calls have been made with increasing frequency over the past few weeks.
The document goes on to warn soldiers preparing to join operations that insurgents in southern Iraq have obtained the home telephone numbers of soldiers by using electronic intercept devices to hack into mobile phone systems and download their dialled numbers.
It says: "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 Royal Military Police has now issued a warning to all soldiers in Iraq to take greater care when using mobile telephones to call home.
Troops have previously been warned not to phone home using their mobiles.
But as there is only limited access to secure satellite phones to phone home, many have been using their mobiles as improved phone networks are set up in Iraq.
Since the start of the war, a number of high profile soldiers are believed to have received death threats from opponents of the war.
Corporal Mark Byles, who won the Military Cross in 2004 after leading members of the 1st Battalion 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.
Yesterday the Ministry of Defence said it was still unclear who was responsible for the terror campaign and how is it being carried out.
A spokesman said: "We know that there has been 20 nuisance calls, however we are not aware of any death threats to the service families.
"We do not know who is making them, but we are investigating and determining the extent of the problem.
"We would urge any service families who receive any calls to immediately report them to their units."
dailymail.co.uk
By REBECCA CAMBER, Daily Mail
25th June 2006
The wives of British soldiers have been targeted by threatening phone calls and emails
Wives of British troops fighting in Iraq are being terrorised by threatening home phone calls from insurgents, secret military papers reveal.
Army intelligence experts claim that terror groups are tapping into soldier's mobile phone records and downloading the home phone numbers of their wives and families in the UK.
There have been reports of a number of relatives and friends of soldiers in Iraq getting calls in the middle of the night threatening that a son or husband will be killed.
In one message, a terrorist is understood to have said: "You will never see your husband again... he's dead".
At least 20 telephone calls have been reported in the last month which intelligence officers have traced back to Iraq.
The threats are thought to range from verbal abuse to death threats and some callers simply hang up.
Many who have received calls claim that they were made by people with a Middle Eastern accent who spoke in broken English.
Yesterday Defence Secretary Des Browne promised to investigate the matter, saying: "Some of the families of those who are serving in Iraq have been receiving what has been described as nuisance calls.
"From my point of view all of those need to be formally investigated. If there is some underlying malicious intent, that will be investigated."
According to secret military documents issued to soldiers of the London Regiment, a Territorial Army unit which has soldiers serving in Iraq, the "nuisance" calls have been made with increasing frequency over the past few weeks.
The document goes on to warn soldiers preparing to join operations that insurgents in southern Iraq have obtained the home telephone numbers of soldiers by using electronic intercept devices to hack into mobile phone systems and download their dialled numbers.
It says: "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 Royal Military Police has now issued a warning to all soldiers in Iraq to take greater care when using mobile telephones to call home.
Troops have previously been warned not to phone home using their mobiles.
But as there is only limited access to secure satellite phones to phone home, many have been using their mobiles as improved phone networks are set up in Iraq.
Since the start of the war, a number of high profile soldiers are believed to have received death threats from opponents of the war.
Corporal Mark Byles, who won the Military Cross in 2004 after leading members of the 1st Battalion 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.
Yesterday the Ministry of Defence said it was still unclear who was responsible for the terror campaign and how is it being carried out.
A spokesman said: "We know that there has been 20 nuisance calls, however we are not aware of any death threats to the service families.
"We do not know who is making them, but we are investigating and determining the extent of the problem.
"We would urge any service families who receive any calls to immediately report them to their units."
dailymail.co.uk
