November 27, 2009

When he stopped his car at a traffic light in Basra, Bassam Rady noticed the motorbike with two riders on it inch past him. Suddenly the bike swung round and Mr Rady, sensing danger, tried to drive off. Before he could, a man on the back of the bike pulled a gun from his jacket and fired.

The bullet went through the windscreen and just missed him. As he sped away another shot was fired, but missed the car.

Mr Rady is a former interpreter for British forces in Iraq. As such, his life is in danger from the militia that once terrorised the Iraqi city and is now returning.

More than a year ago Iraqi soldiers, backed by US forces, brought peace and stability to Basra by driving militants over the Iranian border in an operation called Charge of the Knights.

According to local estimates, however, about half have returned. Although they have not become as active as before, the militants are targeting Iraqi citizens who co-operated with British forces. Most at risk are translators such as Mr Rady.

The 31-year-old father accompanied soldiers on dangerous missions but was refused resettlement in Britain at the end of his employment.

He worked with nine translators. Seven of them have been killed.

"I’m like a cancer patient — now that the militia are back my family is just waiting for me to die," Mr Rady said. "I see reports in the media that Basra is safe but it’s not true. I know these militia people. I went to school with some of them. I didn’t see them for a year but now they are around again. They have told me, 'your day will come soon’."

He takes security precautions and never follows a routine. This means that he cannot work because that would give the militants a better chance of success.

Militiamen belonging to the alMahdi Army, which is loyal to the radical Shia cleric Hojatoleslam Moqtada al-Sadr, took control of Basra between 2004 and 2007 with other Shia fighters and thugs. They enforced strict Islamic rules at the same time as running criminal rackets. British troops were unable or unwilling to fight back and eventually withdrew to their base at the airport.

In March last year, however, Basra’s brutal lawlessness triggered a counteroffensive by about 40,000 Iraqi troops under the command of the Prime Minister, Nouri al-Maliki and supported by American aircraft, artillery, special forces and intelligence. They regained control of the city after a week of fighting in which more than 1,000 people were killed. This was followed by a ceasefire that allowed many of the militants to slip away to Iran.

The Basra police and army units, who can now be seen at checkpoints throughout the city, deny that they have a problem with returning militants. At the Basra mortuary, however, officials told The Times that they were seeing the bodies of victims from political killings every week. Naeem Hassan, a hearse driver, said: "I just drove the bodies of two Iraqis back to their home in Baghdad. They were working here for a foreign company with a foreign engineer. He was kidnapped and the two Iraqis were killed."

Few such killings are reported in the local media, which has complained about official intimidation in the past. "Don’t believe it when you hear from the police that Basra is safe," Mr Rady said. "Parts of the police are, and always were, part of the militia. They are infiltrated through and through."

Signs of renewed militant activity can be seen. Two alcohol stores in Watan Street were attacked. Shots were fired at the shop front and a day later a bomb destroyed the inside. In another case, military engineers were able to dismantle a bomb before it exploded. Army units have stepped up patrols.

Awath al-Abdan, a local politician, said: "Some militia members have come back and once they are settled in they are ready to rise up when given the order."

Leaders of ethnic and sectarian minorities in Basra have reported attacks on members of their communities and pressure to follow strict religious practices. A growing number of violent crimes committed by, or with the consent of, some elements in the police has also been reported.

Although Basra has not reached the anarchy of its worst years, its residents fear that the slide has begun.

This makes survival for residents who worked with the British increasingly difficult. Mr Rady was supposed to have been given residency in Britain after he finished his job.

He said that he worked for British forces for 14 months, putting him in the 12-month requirement for resettlement. His official work record is incomplete however and shows a period of employment six days short of a year. For that reason, he said, his application to emigrate was turned down.

Battle for Basra

2003 April 6 Much of Basra is under coalition control after an assault by thousands of British troops

June 24 Six Royal Military Police soldiers are killed by a mob

2004 May 8 Hundreds of Iraqi militia clash with British troops

2006 May 6 Five British soldiers die when their helicopter is shot down

December 25 More than 1,000 British troops storm a police unit to rescue 127 prisoners

2008 March Iraqi authorities regain control of city from militias after week of fighting

2009 January 1 British troops hand over full control of Basra. During the operation 179 British troops and at least 3,302 civilians were killed

Source: Times database