- Title: IRAQ: British soldier killed on patrol in Basra
- Date: 3rd April 2007
- Summary: WATER AND BLOOD MINGLING ON STREET
- Embargoed: 18th April 2007 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Iraq
- Country: Iraq
- Topics: War / Fighting
- Reuters ID: LVAEMYISTZLV4WNAWVCBFD5171RZ
- Story Text: A British soldier was killed and another injured while on patrol in the southern Iraqi city of Basra, the Ministry of Defence said on Monday (April 2).
A British army spokesman had earlier reported that the two soldiers were wounded when their patrol was attacked by a sniper while their convoy passed the Chamber of Commerce headquarters in central Basra.
It emerged that one of the soldiers later died of his injuries in hospital, the Ministry of Defence reported in a statement.
Workers at the Chamber of Commerce had to hose down the steps at the building's entrance which were covered in blood.
Bullet holes were also clearly visible on the buildings facade.
An eyewitness described how the two soldiers came under attack.
"They (British Soldiers) knocked at the door (of the Chamber of Commerce), but I didn't open it. I don't want to be killed. They went from here (points with hand) and suddenly I heard a sound of a bullet from over there," said Hashim Saad al-Yassiri, a security guard at the city's chamber of commerce.
British forces recently pulled out of their base in central Basra, Iraq's second city, and handed it over to the Iraqi 10th division in what a British general called an important step towards Iraqis taking control of their security.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair said in February that Britain would begin withdrawing a quarter of its 7,000 troops, who are stationed mainly in and around Basra in Iraq's largely stable Shi'ite south, in the coming months.
BRITISH MILITARY - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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