Double Basra attack: one British invader killed, several injured

A British military helicopter carries wounded soldiers from the site where their patrol was targeted by a roadside bomb today.

A British soldier has been killed and five more injured after two near-simultaneous attacks today occurred in Basra, The Times has learnt.

One incident involved a roadside bomb striking a British convoy south of Basra at 2.30pm local time (1130am GMT). A spokesman for the Ministry of Defence told Times Online that four soldiers were injured in the attack, with one later dying after being evacuated by helicopter to hospital. He added that one of the three remaining wounded soldiers was in a critical condition.

"Four soldiers were injured, but one subsequently died after evacuation by air to a field hospital," he said. "Another soldier is in a critical condition."

The other attack was a rocket strike on the Basra Palace complex, which is the base for several hundred British troops as well housing the British Consulate General and a US consulate. Two British soldiers and an Iraqi civilian were seriously injured in the strike, according to the MOD spokesman.

The spokesman added that all casualties had been taken to the military medical facility based in Basra airport. A Times reporter in Basra witnessed a medical helicopter flying from the city centre to Basra airport. Usually, military helicopters do not fly in Basra in daylight as it is too dangerous - a rule which is only broken in emergency situations.

Military sources told The Times that the target of the roadside bomb was an armoured Land Rover - a vehicle considered vulnerable to attack, and subsequently being used less and less than the heavily armoured personnel carriers which provide more protection.