Westminster Court Hearings Confirm that the: UK Tourists Were Used as Human Shields [Archives:1999/50/Front Page]

Inquests conducted by the British anti-terrorism police disclosed that two of the four tourists kidnapped in Yemen last December were killed by bullets fired by Yemeni troops during their attempts to rescue them. 
Press sources said the four hostages were killed after the kidnappers used them as human shields during the battle between them and Yemeni troops on top of one of the mounds. The four hostages who were killed during the battle were Andrew Thirsk 35, Margaret Whitehouse 52, Edward Rowe 60, and Ruth Williamson 34. 
The sources also quoted British Police Detective Sergeant O’shea as telling a British court that, “The kidnappers began shooting at the Yemeni soldiers. They were using the hostages in the smaller groups as shields on top of a mound, with their arms on their heads.” 
The tourists were touring Yemen when they were attacked and taken hostage by a small radical Moslem group, the Aden-Abyan Islamic Army.
——
[archive-e:50-v:1999-y:1999-d:1999-12-13-p:./1999/iss50/front.htm]