What is this?

What is this? British soldiers conducting a paramilitary jailbreak on an Iraqi jail run by the government in "peaceful" Basra?

BASRA, Iraq - British soldiers used 10 armored vehicles to break down the walls of the central jail in this southern city Monday and freed two Britons, allegedly undercover commandos arrested on charges of shooting two Iraqi policemen, witnesses and Iraqi officials said. But the British government said the two men were released as a result of negotiations. ......

"A British force of more than 10 tanks backed by helicopters attacked the central jail and destroyed it. This is an irresponsible act," al-Waili said, adding that the British force had spirited the prisoners away to an unknown location. ......

But the spokesman stopped short of denying reports that British tanks crashed through the jail walls. The ministry issued a statement saying the two Britons were back with other British troops. ......

Outside the jail, a melee broke out in the streets as angry demonstrators attacked the encircling British armor with stones and Molotov cocktails. During the chaos, one British soldier could be seen in a photograph scrambling for his life from a burning Warrior armored personnel carrier and the rock-throwing mob.

I don't know what to make of this? What does it mean?

UPDATE: From ITV

150 Iraqi prisoners are also thought to have fled the jail during the British attack.

UPDATE: Tue Morning CNN.

In a statement released in London, Reid did not say why the two had been taken into custody. But the Iraqi official, who spoke to CNN on condition of anonymity, said their arrests stemmed from an incident earlier in the day.

The official said two unknown gunmen in full Arabic dress began firing on civilians in central Basra, wounding several, including a traffic police officer. There were no fatalities, the official said.

So, British agents disguised as Arabs, opened fire on a crowd? Targeting somebody in particular or trying to "stage" an attack? This is getting weirder

UPDATE: Juan Cole's version adds some context but still leaves me feeling a bit uninformed.

UPDATE:

yet the British have been facing a sharp rise in attacks from an increasingly sophisticated and deadly foe.

There are strong suspicions that the bloodshed is being orchestrated with weapons and encouragement from Iran.