In Mesopotamia last week the Muntafik Arabs on the Shattel
Hai rose at the bidding of the fanatical Shiah clergy of Kerbela and Nejef, who have preached a " Holy War " against the British army of occupation. The insurgents attacked Samawa on the Euphrates on Thursday week. An armoured train which was covering the withdrawal of a detachment from the railway station to the town broke down and was attacked and captured by the Arabs. The crew of the train, numbering forty, put up a good defence against four thousand insurgents, but were overpowered. The tribes round Hillah seem to be tired of fighting. To the north of Baghdad the country is disturbed and the railway service interrupted, but a sharp attack on Samarra on the Tigris was repulsed on Sunday week. The route to Persia, up the Diala Valley, is being re-opened, and the women and children in the summer camp at Karind will be removed.
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