The Report
of the Iraq Inquiry
69.
The
consolidated BDA considered the contribution that pre‑planned
strikes had
made to the
campaign, and concluded that:
“… PGMs
[precision guided munitions] shortened the battle … and as a
result,
reduced
loss of life on both sides.”
70.
An MOD
official advised Mr Ingram on 23 April that an investigation
into Coalition
activity on
5 April, the BDA of the attack on Gen Al‑Majid, and other
evidence
indicated
that Mr Hamoudi’s claim was true.57
Two of the
bombs had missed their
target “and
we suspect therefore that these bombs caused the collateral damage
to
Mr Hamoudi’s house”.
71.
The official
also advised that although the MOD had not yet developed a policy
on
compensation,
it was unlikely that Mr Hamoudi would have a claim. There was
no legal
obligation
on the Coalition to compensate civilians affected by hostilities.
In line with
previous
operations, the MOD would not expect to offer compensation for
damages
resulting
from legitimate targeting during hostilities.
72.
Mr Ingram
wrote to Mr Sudad Hamoodi on 4 June. Mr Ingram advised
that the UK
had “looked
into” the circumstances surrounding the event and could confirm
that the
deaths
were:
“… likely
to have been the result of Coalition bombing aimed at General … Al
Majid.
There as no
deliberate targeting of your father’s home and the losses suffered
by
your family
were quite unintended. I appreciate that this may be of very little
comfort
to
you now.
“… the
Coalition does take every care to ensure that our military action
avoids injury
to civilian
populations. That said it is not possible to eliminate the risk to
civilians
entirely,
but I hope you will understand that when civilians are injured or
killed in this
way, this
is a tragic accident rather than a deliberate
event.”58
73.
Mr Sudad
Hamoudi replied to Mr Ingram on 8 June, posing a number
of
questions including:
•
Was the
intelligence that had placed Gen Al‑Majid at the location (in a
residential
district)
reliable?
•
Why had the
family not been warned about the possibility of an attack, so
that
they could
have taken action to ensure their own safety?
•
Whether it
was correct to describe the deaths as an accident, when they
had
resulted
from a deliberate action.59
57
Minute MOD
[junior official] to PS/Minister(AF) [MOD], 23 April 2003, ‘OP
TELIC: Hamoodi Family:
Civilian
Fatalities’.
58
Letter
Ingram to Hamoodi, 4 June 2003, [untitled].
59
Letter
Hamoodi to Ingram, 8 June 2003, [untitled].
184