THE Army last night confirmed that British soldiers accused of beating an Iraqi civilian to death were based at Catterick, North Yorkshire.

The Royal Military Police (RMP) special investigations branch has launched an inquiry into the allegations against members of the Queen's Lancashire Regiment.

Soldiers from the regiment have been questioned in Iraq and Britain and could face court martial.

If one of the soldiers is found to have delivered the fatal blow, he could be charged with manslaughter.

The RMP is understood to be nearing the end of its investigations into the death of pro-Saddam fighter, Al-Maliki, last September.

An examination of the his body revealed multiple injuries, while other prisoners of war (POW) captured with him in the southern city of Basra also complained of mistreatment.

The Queen's Lancashire Regiment was sent to Iraq on peacekeeping duties in the aftermath of the downfall of Saddam Hussein.

A month before the Iraqi PoW died, the regiment had lost one of its most popular soldiers to a bomb blast.

Investigators are looking at whether the death of Captain Dai Jones, 29, of Louth, Lincolnshire, could have acted as a trigger for any alleged mistreatment of PoWs.

The regiment was based at Catterick Garrison until last month when the unit, which completed a six-month tour of Iraq in December, was posted to Cyprus.

A military source said: "We really need to get to the bottom of what may or may not have happened here. We absolutely will not tolerate anything that brings the British military into disrepute."

A spokesman for the Ministry of Defence (MoD) said: "A Royal Military Police special investigations branch investigation into the death is ongoing and it would be inappropriate to speculate about its outcome.

"If British soldiers are found to have acted unlawfully, appropriate action will be taken."

The MoD is already investigating a number of allegations of mistreatment of PoWs including one case in which soldiers from the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers are alleged to have taken photographs of an Iraqi prisoner suspended from a forklift truck.