07/04/2003

Three soldiers killed during fighting in Basra

Three British soldiers have been reported killed in Iraq following two days of sustained fighting to secure Basra.

With resistance described as "sporadic" within the city, the soldiers, two from the Irish Guards and one Royal Fusilier, were killed as UK forces sought to consolidate their hold over the southern Iraqi city.

British military sources said it was believed that around 300 Iraqi combatants had died as as result of the military action during the past two days as armoured vehicles moved in to the streets of Basra. Commanders on the ground said that the action had resulted in substantial gains within the city limits and that the second largest city was now largely in the hands of coalition forces.

The names of the two Irish Guards who died have not yet been relaesed, but the third soldier killed was named as 18-year-old John Turkington of the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers.

British forces also confirmed that the commander of Iraqi forces in the south Ali Hassan al-Majid, dubbed 'Chemical Ali' for his use of poison gas on Kurds in Northern Iraq, had been found dead.

(SP)

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