The Law Gazette - August 14th 2003

Iraq lawyers rescued
By Jeremy Fleming

Six city solicitors had to be rescued by former SAS soldiers in Baghdad recently after their jeep broke down and was surrounded by a hostile crowd in a remote suburb of the city at dusk.

The lawyers – known to be from a large city firm – entered Iraq last month through Jordan, and were likely to be scouting for contracts. A number of big-ticket tenders for banking and telecommunications deals are imminent in the war ravaged state.

The Security operators who helped the lawyers came from International Intelligence Limited, a Cheltenham based firm, which has developed close protection teams – including former SAS members - to Iraq in support of companies tendering for reconstruction contracts.

Managing director Alex Bomberg said his team “extracted the group to a central Baghdad hotel as an act of humanity or kindness.

He added “While we fully understand and respect that there is a great deal of business to be secured in the region, we ask and suggest that any legal professionals wishing to conduct business in Iraq take the proper and measured precautions. The logistics of visiting Iraq at this present time in itself are a huge minefield; the infrastructure is non-existent and the whole area an extremely hostile environment.”