Basra sniper kills two British soldiers in two days

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Three British soldiers have been killed by single shots in the past six weeks - two of them in the last two days - and five injured.

The marksman is believed to be using a powerful rifle which can penetrate body armour. Scroll down for more...

Targeted: Danny Wilson, 28, was killed by a single shot near Basra as he checked for booby traps

Insurgents in Iraq are believed to have got hold of more than 100 Austrian sniper rifles which had been sold to Tehran.

Kingsman Danny Wilson was killed on Sunday. The 28-year-old, part of the 2nd Battalion of the Duke of Lancaster's Regiment, was shot after getting out of his Warrior armoured vehicle to look for roadside bombs at a crossroads.

The bullet is understood to have gone through a section of his body armour. He had already served in the country and volunteered to go back.

The sniper is believed to have killed another soldier, yet to be named, and wounded a third. They were all shot in the Al Ashar area of Basra.

The death takes the number of UK service personnel who have died since the start of hostilities in Iraq to 136, of which 105 were deaths in action.

A senior Army officer recently backed claims by local leaders that Iranian agents are paying Iraqi men in Basra £250 a month to attack UK troops. Iranian security forces are believed to have infiltrated the city.