TWO Iraqi men who were detained and allegedly abused by British soldiers before being handed over to US forces cannot be told which units captured them, the High Court ruled today.

The men, known only as HTF and ZMS, were both captured by British forces in separate operations in Iraq in 2008.

HTF alleges that, after he was arrested in Basra in June of that year, he was transferred to various US detention facilities where he was deprived of sleep, held in solitary confinement and sexually assaulted.

ZMS, detained in Basra in August 2008, alleges he was assaulted at the time of his arrest, before being transferred to US military custody and subjected to serious mistreatment by US personnel.

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) denies both that HTF or ZMS were assaulted in British custody and that it is liable for torture by the US.

The pair’s claim against the MoD is due to go to trial in November, but their lawyers have been fighting for further disclosure from the MoD to make their case.

Phillippa Kaufmann QC asked for material relating to the identity of the British personnel which captured and detained the claimants to be disclosed, particularly whether the troops involved were from special forces units.

She pointed to a number of publicly available sources which referred to the deployment of special forces in Iraq and said it would not damage national security to confirm their involvement.

But Mr Justice Males ruled that the “effectiveness” of special forces would be “compromised by public disclosure of their activities” and denied the application.