The Shammar Arabs who roam about the North Syrian Desert
between the Upper Tigris and the Upper Euphrates swooped down upon a small British post at Tell Afar, forty miles north-west of Mosul, on June 3rd and killed the three British officers and one private who were stationed there. On the following day they ambushed two armoured cars which entered the village, and are said to have killed the crews. Those who know most about the conditions prevailing in this desert will bo least likely to attach any political significance to this unfortunate incident. The Turks never succeeded in keeping these nomads in order. Sir E. Wallis Budge, who describes in his recent book two journeys that he made across the desert thirty years ago, was robbed by the Shammar near Mosul and visited Tell Afar soon after it had been looted by Circassian. The Romans used to have endless trouble in this region, outside of their strong forts like Singers,. The desert will perhaps be pacified by the new railway and by the re-establishment of order in the Tigris and Euphrates valleys, where the nomads may become farmers.
