Coll 30/9 'Persian Gulf: Administration Reports 1926-1938' [‎478v] (961/1028)

On the 29th January British aeroplanes located the raiders fifteen miles
north of Hafar ah Batin. The raiders opened fire on the aircraft, which
replied with bombs and machine gun fire. They again attacked the raiders
eight miles south of Hafar al-Batin on the afternoon of the 30th January,
and inflicted some casualties on both occasions.
On the 19th February some sections of the Juwarfn, of the Muntafik
confederation of Traq, and some other tribes were attacked near Jarlshan
in the Batin, some fifty miles south west of Zubair, by a force of Ikhwan
estimated at a thousand camels carrying two men each and a large number
of horse-- probably 2.300 men in all—under Faisal ad-Dawfsh, the para
mount shaikh of the Mutair, in person. The Traq tribesmen had twenty-
six men killed and eighteen wounded, and lost 130 camels and nearly 1,800
sheep.
On the same day an aeroplane reconnaissance located two parties of
raiders, a large one ten miles south of Jarfshan, and a smaller one near
Riqa’i. A later reconnaissance on the same day observed parties in the
neighbourhood of Jarfshan spread over a large area driving oh plunder. All
parties seen were attacked, and the aeroplanes were heavily fired on in
return. One aeroplane fell in flames and the pilot was killed, but there
were no other British casualties.
On the 20th February the raiders were attacked from the air as they
retired, and again on the 21st February, on the latter occasion the bombing
being distinctly audible from Kuwait.
On the morning of the 24-th February aeroplanes proceeded from the
Neutral Zone between Traq and Najd via Hafar-al-Batin to Lisafah (wrong
ly shown on maps as S£fah). Twenty miles to the north, north west of
Lisafah a large camp of white tents was located, surrounded by camels,
horses and flocks of sheep. Some of the aeroplanes dropped their bombs
on this camp, and the remainder proceeded to LisTfah itself and bombed it.
though at neither place were the results as good as had been hoped. Faisal
ad-Dawfsh had apparently been at Lisafah until that very morning, but
had left” there for Artawfyah shortly before the bombing took place.
Reports were next received that Ibn Hum aid, the paramount shaikh
of the powerful T'taibah tribe had invited the other Ikhwan leaders to meet
him on the 7th March at Shaqra, ninety miles south of Artawfyah, for a
huge combined raid. This was confirmed by a prisoner who was captured
from a party of Mutair who fired on some British armoured cars at Hafar
al-Batin on the 12th March, according to whom Dawfsh had suggested a
combined raid after Ramadhan, which ended on the 22nd March, but Ibn
Humaid had insisted on immediate action It was said that the raid was
to be a very big one, and was to have Basrah as its objective.
The raid did not materialize, however, and it was afterwards learnt
that although Ibn Humaid actually left his village of Ghatghat according
to programme, he only got as far as Shams, seventy miles west by north of
Riy&dh, when he was overtaken by Khalid bin Luwai, a member of the
bhafifian family and one of the leading Ikhwan of the Hijaz, who had
arrived at Riyadh a few days earlier and now went to him on Ibn Sa’ud’s
behalf to try and induce him to return. He succeeded for the time being,
as Ibn Humaid did return to Ghatghat, though leaving his standard at
Shams.
On the 21st March Ibn Humaid visited Dawfsh at Arthwfyah, and
suggested that they should make their joint raid then. The Mutair how
ever had had enough of fighting for the time being, and were unwilling to
oo-operate Accordingly, on the 24th March Ibn Humaid left Jarab, a few
tliiles to the north -west of Artawfyah, with a considerable force of his own
Utaibah, intending to attack Salman Post. Ibn Sa’iid, however, who by
this time had accepted the British invitation to discuss outstanding ques
tions with Sir Gilbert Clayton, again succeeded in stopping him, this time
by Sending his relative, Sa’ud al-’Arafah, and the well known divine, the
Shaikh al~ Anqari. They overtook Ibn Humaid at Ajibbah, and after some
little trouble persuaded him to hold his hand and confer with Ibn Sa’ud.