Families' hopes after eight Iraqis held over military police deaths

Published on Saturday 13 February 2010 00:52

THE families of six military policemen murdered by an Iraqi mob have welcomed the news that eight suspects have been arrested. The Army Red Caps were killed in 2003 when an estimated 400 Iraqis descended on a police station in Majar al-Kabir.

A judge in Iraq has indicated that the suspects will stand trial but the evidence must be examined first.

The six Red Caps killed were Sergeant Simon Hamilton-Jewell, 41, from Chessington, Surrey; Corporal Russell Aston, 30, from Swadlincote, Derbyshire; Corporal Paul Long, 24, of Tyne and Wear; Lance Corporal Benjamin McGowan Hyde, 23, from Northallerton, North Yorkshire; Lance Corporal Tom Keys, 20, from Bala, North Wales, and Corporal Simon Miller, 21, from Washington, Tyne and Wear.

Mike Aston, the father of Cpl Aston, said: "It's been a long time coming, but if the killers are brought to justice this will enable us to get closure on that front at least. I hope they hang them."

An army spokesman said: "We are assisting the Iraqi government in every way possible to secure convictions, including access to UK investigative materials and expertise."