Two British soldiers killed in Iraq

The first soldier, from the 4th Battalion, The Rifles, died at the Basra Palace base in the centre of the city on Friday afternoon in a non-combat accident.

An MoD spokeswoman said an investigation was under way and his next of kin have been informed.

A second soldier was killed and three were injured in separate incidents during a large-scale operation around Basra overnight.

About 1,000 troops were involved in the operation to arrest individuals suspected of other attacks. The dead soldier's next of kin have not yet been informed.

The soldiers came under attack from bombs, rocket-propelled grenades and gunfire during heavy fighting in the southern Iraqi city. The dead soldier was in a Warrior armoured vehicle patrol in the Tuninah district north of Basra when he was killed by an improvised explosive device.

The three wounded soldiers, one of whom was seriously injured, are being treated at the British field hospital in Basra.

UK military spokesman Major David Gell said the operation was the largest of its kind to be carried out in Basra this year. It was aimed at arresting individuals believed to be responsible for recent attacks on the Iraqi Provincial Joint Co-ordination Centre, where Iraqi security forces and multi-national forces are based. A number of locations were searched and arrests were made.

Coalition warplanes destroyed roadside bombs from the air as the troops pulled out of the city in the latter stages of the operation, Major Gell said.

"It's with deep regret that we can confirm that one British soldier was killed and three others injured during a large-scale operation in the early hours of this morning," he said.