BASRA, Iraq, March 22 (Reuters) - British forces said on Thursday they used "minimum force" to quell a disturbance at a British-run prison in Iraq, after an Iraqi official said five inmates were wounded by plastic bullets. Most of the detainees at the facility at Shuaiba logistics base near the southern city of Basra are suspected members of Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr's Mehdi Army militia. Hakim al-Mayahi, who heads the Basra provincial council's security committee, said inmates at the facility rioted in the early hours of Thursday morning in protest against their detention without trial, some for up to two years. Details of the violence were sketchy, but Mayahi said guards fired plastic bullets to quell it. Five prisoners were wounded, he said, without giving the source of his information. "We hold the British forces accountable for the safety of the prisoners," he said. British military spokesman Major David Gell said there had been a "minor disturbance" at the prison on Wednesday morning, not on Thursday, that had been quickly defused within an hour. He had no information on any casualties among the inmates but said one soldier had been injured. "We used minimum and proportional force to protect staff and detainees. We acted within regulations that we adhere to. The situation was de-escalated by the internees," Gell said, without elaborating on what measures were used. "The people held there pose a threat to multinational forces and the people of Iraq. Each individual's case is reviewed every 28 days ... At that point they can be interned for a further period, released, or handed over to the Iraqi system." Prisoners would receive family visits as normal on Thursday. Ten detainees escaped from the facility last week after swapping clothes and changing places with a group of men posing as visitors. All prisoners are to be transferred to a new detention facility when the base is handed over to Iraqi security forces next month. (Additional reporting by Ross Colvin)
