One British soldier killed, one wounded in southern Iraq

Khaleej Times, (AFP)

28 August 2003

 

BAGHDAD - One British soldier was killed and another wounded in the southern Iraqi port city of Basra overnight, a coalition spokesman told AFP on Thursday.

The pair was hit by small arms fire either late Wednesday or pre-dawn Thursday, the spokesman said, on condition of anonymity.

The death brought to 11 the number of British soldiers killed in Iraq since Washington declared major combat over on May 1.  Three British soldiers were killed and one wounded in a roadside shooting in the centre of Basra last Saturday. Nine days earlier, a British soldier was killed by a bomb in the southern port.

The rash of violence comes after months of relative quiet in Basra where British troops have been credited with keeping the peace and avoiding the pitfalls of the north’s simmering war between US forces and guerrilla-style fighters.