Britain imposed caveats on its special forces in Iraq after disagreements with the United States over the detention and illegal rendition of suspects, according to a new book on the SAS. Task Force Black, by Mark Urban, reveals that by October 2004 the British Government blocked its elite troops from handing over suspects to the US if they were going to be held in a screening facility dubbed a black prison in Iraq or flown to a notorious detention centre in Afghanistan. The growing unpopularity of the war at home also prompted Downing Street to forbid the SAS from entering Fallujah alongside Delta Force, its US counterpart, as part of a battle for the al-Qaeda stronghold later that year, Mr Urban said. The friction was resolved by the end of 2005. Mr Urban, the diplomatic editor of the BBCs Newsnight programme, rejected the idea that Task Force Black, which the current Director Special Forces had tried to prevent being published, revealed sensitive information that could endanger future operations. I went to great lengths not to endanger personal security or operational effectiveness, he said. Mr Urban and his publisher, Little, Brown, battled for several months with government lawyers and the Ministry of Defence before reaching an agreement that enabled Task Force Black to be published later this week. There were different interpretations of what was sensitive, he said. It is in the publics interest to find out what was done in Britains name in the campaign. (The Times)