ON THE TIGRIS.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CXVII, Issue 17100, 24 February 1916, Page 7

ON THE TIGRIS.

ARAB IRREGULARS. “JACKALS IN THE REAR.” MURDER FRIEND AND FOE. By Talegraph—Press Association—CopyrightLONDON,' February 22. Mx E. Candler, correspondent with the Britsih forces in Mesopotamia, writes: “Thousands of Arab irregulars hang on to the outskirts of the Mesopotamian expedition, even when it is on the march. They kill for pillage, swooping down on isolated detachments, stripping the dead; digging up graves and following like jackals in the rear. Once when two jibbing transoort ponies were unyoked and the cart abandoned, the Arabs were down upon it. before the rearguard was eight hundred yards away. “Emboldened by the possibility of. loot the marauders eome close in ar.J it is difficult, owing to rue mirage, to tell where they are. Hazes hi Mesopotamia magnify everything. The Arabs haunt the battlefields for days, sparing wounded only.when under the command of Sheiks or Turkish officers. They murder and pillage oven friendly Turks. “ Important Turkish prisoners said to Majoc-Gonoral Aylmer, I We should join hands and end .those scavengers and settle our differences afterwards.’ The Arabs are light weights, each carrying a hag of d-i as and small rations for his horse. They never wait for our cavalry encumbered by six stone equipment to get amongst them, unless they believe wo are badly outnumbered. In a skirmish near Shaiba, the Arabs thought us ambuscaded and at a disadvantage, owing to deep mud and charged. We had 450 horsemen. Two sections of horse artillery wheeled and charged thousands and for a minute there was a clash of sword and lance. Then the Arabs broke, and our artillery did bloody execution.”