British soldier killed in bomb attack

THE British Army campaign in Iraq entered a dangerous new phase yesterday when a bomb killed an army officer and injured two soldiers. The attack, on an army ambulance close to Basra, was the first guerrilla-style operation against British forces in the south of the country since the war to topple Saddam Hussein was declared over.

It was also the first British fatality in a hostile incident since six Royal Military Policemen were killed on 24 June when they were attacked in the town of Al-Majar Al-Kabir.

The attack came shortly after two days of unrest by the Shiite Muslim population in Basra, which saw locals exchange fire with British troops. It also came after Shiite residents in a Baghdad slum rejected a US apology over an incident that sparked protests there and vowed more violence unless American troops withdrew from the district.

Until now, sporadic attacks using explosives, rocket propelled grenades or armed ambushes have been targeted solely at US forces around the capital, Baghdad.

British military commanders were thought to be particularly concerned that the attackers had chosen a relatively soft target, a military ambulance clearly marked with a red cross.

The green army ambulance was travelling from Basra to Shaibah when it was struck, shortly after 9am British time yesterday. Inside the vehicle was a soldier who was being taken to a military hospital for a routine examination not related to combat operations. He was accompanied by another soldier and an army officer.

Major Charlie Mayo, a British Army spokesman in Basra, said an improvised explosive device had been hidden in a pile of earth beside a lamp post and was detonated by remote control.

The officer was killed and the two soldiers suffered shrapnel wounds, which were not thought to be life threatening.

Major Mayo said: "It is with great regret that we have to announce the death of this serviceman. His family are currently being informed and our thoughts are with them at this time.

"This was a direct attack on a clearly-marked ambulance, without any justification whatsoever. We will work closely with the police and local community to identify and track down those responsible."

He added: "The British Army and our multi-national partners are working closely with the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) and the Iraqi people to maintain order and rebuild the country after Saddam Hussein.

"Incidents such as this, carried out by a small minority of those who do not want peace, will not deter us from that aim."

The attack on the Royal Military Policemen, about 80 miles north of Basra, was directly linked to an earlier incident in which local townspeople were angered by what they perceived to be heavy-handed weapons searches by British forces.

All six men who died were members of the 156 Provost Company, attached to 16 Air Assault Brigade, based in Colchester, Essex.

The rising tensions in Basra in recent days saw more than 2,000 people demonstrating in Iraq’s second city over the lack of fuel and electricity.

Tyres were burned and missiles thrown at the CPA headquarters in the city. Shots were also fired at soldiers guarding garages but no members of the British armed forces were seriously injured.

A Nepalese security guard and two Iraqis were killed in the rioting.

A senior oil ministry official has warned that frequent power cuts could bring southern Iraq’s oil industry grinding to a halt, strangling exports crucial to rebuilding the economy after years of dictatorship, war and sanctions.

British combat deaths now stand at seven since 1 May, when the US President, George Bush, declared major fighting at an end. Eight combat deaths occurred before 1 May, and in all 46 Britons have died, including soldiers killed in action, by friendly fire, natural causes and in accidents.

A defence analyst, Paul Beaver, said yesterday’s attack on the military ambulance was very different to any incident dealt with by British forces in Iraq before now.

"This looks like a step up in operations by a group you can only call terrorists," he told BBC News. "This is very much a pre-meditated act of terrorism. There’s no doubt at all what we’re actually seeing here is someone making capital out of the fact there is now a greater awareness of discontent in the Basra area."

The US government yesterday appeared to back away from moves to give the United Nations a greater role in the occupation of Iraq, an idea supported by France and India as a condition for their participation in peacekeeping exercises.

Officials with the Bush administration were quoted as saying the situation in Iraq was not sufficiently "dire" to warrant going to the UN Security Council and asking for an international operation to be launched in the country.

The US has 139,000 troops in Iraq, while Britain has 11,000 servicemen and women in the Gulf state. A further 10,000 personnel from 17 other countries have been sent to help occupy the country.

At least 58 US troops have been killed by hostile fire since major combat operations were declared over by Mr Bush on 1 May, and coalition sources estimate US forces face an average of 12 attacks a day in Iraq.

The attacks are blamed on pro-Saddam loyalists and Islamic extremists who have travelled into Iraq since the war ended for the chance to take a shot at US soldiers.

Most Shiites in Iraq say they were oppressed by Saddam, a Sunni, and welcomed his overthrow but some powerful Shiite clerics have denounced the occupation.

Temperatures linked to Scots soldier's death

THE extreme heat is thought to have contributed to the death of a Scottish soldier in southern Iraq, the army said last night.

An investigation has been launched into the death of Private Jason Smith, 32, of the 52nd Lowland Regiment Territorial Army Battalion, who was serving with the 1st Battalion King’s Own Scottish Borders (KOSB).

Pte Smith, who was single and from Hawick, in the Borderers, died on Wednesday. The MoD said there was no suggestion he had been attacked, nor that his death was suspicious.

A spokesman for the soldier’s regiment, based in Catterick, north Yorkshire, said: "I’ve spoken to people in Iraq who at this stage don’t know how Pte Smith died. We don’t believe that he had a medical condition which could have caused this.

"It’s been speculated that he may have suffered a heart attack or a stroke, but there won’t be any confirmation until the post-mortem examination is carried out in the next couple of days."

The spokesman said the extreme heat in Iraq at present - more than 50C - could have been a contributory factor. He added: "Soldiers over there are working in unbearably hot conditions. It’s 60 degrees there at the moment. I’ve worked in heat like that in the first Gulf war and it’s like working in an oven."

The 1st Battalion KOSB arrived in Iraq in July as part of the changeover of troops, a MoD spokesman said. Pte Smith had served with the Territorial Army since 1992.