British supply convoy attacked, heavy clashes reported in Basra

Above: A militia member scans a street in Basra today. Left: A fuel truck burns after the convoy attack. Basra is Iraq's second-largest city and only sea port.

LONDON (AFP) - A British soldier and an Iraqi civilian were killed in the southern Iraqi city of Basra on Monday after a military supply convoy was ambushed by gunmen, the defence ministry here said.

"It is with deep sadness that the Ministry of Defence must confirm that a UK soldier has died as a result of wounds that he sustained," the defence ministry said in a statement.

"A fuel tanker was also set on fire and was blown over. As a result of this a civilian driver was sadly killed"...

Jubilant Iraqis had dragged the driver's corpse away from the burning truck and danced around it, flashing victory signs at press photographers.

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BASRA, Iraq (Reuters) - Heavy clashes erupted between Shi'ite militiamen and British forces near the provincial governor's office in the southern Iraqi city of Basra on Monday.

A Reuters reporter in Basra, Iraq's second largest city, said he could hear machine-gun fire and blasts from rocket-propelled grenades some 200 metres from the governor's office in central Basra...

British and Iraqi troops have in recent months stepped up operations against Shi'ite militias in the largely Shi'ite south of Iraq.

The oil-producing city of Basra, on the Gulf, is riven by rival Shi'ite factions jockeying for power and access to the city's oil wealth. Britain, whose 7,000 troops are mostly based in Basra, is gradually drawing down its forces in Iraq.

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