IRAQ: British army patrol targeted by roadside bomb in Basra

An improvised explosive device was set off close to a British army patrol in the centre of the Iraqi southern city of Basra on Monday (March 26). One British soldier was injured in the incident, according to the military. However, witnesses close to the attack said all the soldiers were unharmed, "Minutes ago we were standing near the teaching hospital when an explosion hit the British (soldiers). A civilian man was wounded and there was uproar here. (Q:Were any of the casualties British?) No, only one civilian was wounded and they took him to the teaching hospital. (were any British hurt?) No, they were not. They left for the airport crossing the (Shatt-al-Arab) waterway," Qaiosar Adel, an eye witness told Reuters after the attack. British armoured fighting vehicles and soldiers deployed around the area after the attack, checking cars and maintaining security. Basra, the hub of Iraq's great southern oil field that is the source of most of the country's wealth was a scene of clashes early this week when gunmen attacked the headquarters of Fadhila, a small but powerful party that controls the province and withdrew from the country's ruling Shi'ite alliance earlier this month, witnesses said. Last week British forces 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. 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.

ITN Source | March 26, 2007

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