Reports: British respond with massive raid during second day of large-scale attacks against British in Basra

Above: Children play on the track of a British military vehicle today in Basra. The British reported that 'all positions' had been attacked yesterday.

Soldier killed in big raid in Basra

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - One British soldier was killed in the southern Iraqi city of Basra overnight during the largest operation staged by British forces in the country this year, a military spokesman said on Saturday.

Major Matthew Bird said around 1,000 British troops backed by tanks and aircraft battled their way through Iraq's second largest city to round up militants blamed for persistent attacks against Iraqi and British personnel.

"British forces were exposed to a large number of attacks by IEDS (improvised explosive devices), RPGs (rocket-propelled grenades) and small arms, which resulted in the death of one British soldier and the injury of three others," the military said in a statement.

Read the rest at Yahoo News

Two British soldiers die in Iraq

Two British soldiers have died in separate incidents in southern Iraq, the MoD said...

The first soldier died in fighting involving 1,000 troops who faced machine gun fire and rocket-propelled grenades as British forces launched an operation targeting groups thought to be behind recent attacks.

The operation was the largest of its kind to be carried out in Basra this year, said UK military spokesman Maj David Gell...

The soldier killed in fighting was on patrol just after midnight local time on Saturday. Next of kin have been informed.

Three soldiers are being treated at the British field hospital in Basra after unrelated incidents during the operation.

One soldier suffered serious injuries and another minor injury from small arms fire, and a further member of the armed forces was injured by an improvised explosive device.

Read the rest at the BBC

UK soldiers hurt in heavy attack in southern Iraq

British troops were hit by heavy attacks with bombs, rocket-propelled grenades and gunfire in the southern city of Basra, causing a number of casualties among them, the British military said Saturday.

The statement did not specify the number of casualties or their nature, and a British military spokesman contacted by the Associated Press woudl not give details.

Read the rest at the Jerusalem Post

Heavy Clashes Continue in Basra

Heavy clashes between British occupation troops and the Al-Mahdi Army forces continued for a second day in Basra, Iraq's second-largest city, Saturday as another British serviceman lost his life and several others were injured in gun battle with members of the resistance movement.

According to Alalam's correspondent, UK forces, backed by heavy artillery and armored carriers, carried out raids at the heart of Basra and arrested several Iraqis early on Saturday. The occupation forces then came under fire from Al-Mahdi army in response to their offensive.

"During the clashes, the UK forces sustained more casualties and damages," the correspondent added.

British defense ministry confirmed one of its forces was killed in the clashes in Basra on Saturday.

A spokesman of the ministry said the serviceman died in the early hours of Saturday during a heavy fighting in the Tuninah district in the north of Basra.

Read the rest at Alalam News

Related Link:
Spokesman: Entire British force attacked in Basra