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British soldier dies in Iraq

February 13, 2009 - 07:26:17

BASRA / Aswat al-Iraq: A British soldier died in a shooting incident Thursday in the southern Iraqi city of Basra, the Ministry of Defence in London said.

“It is with regret that the Ministry of Defence must announce the death of a soldier from 1st Battalion The Princess of Wales’s Royal Regiment in Basra, Iraq, on Thursday 12 February 2009,” the ministry said in a statement.

“The soldier died during a shooting incident in the early hours of the morning at the Contingency Operating Base,” it said.

“The circumstances surrounding the incident are still being investigated,” it added.

This is the first British soldier killed in the country in 2009.

The death brings

A total of 179 British service personnel have lost their lives in Iraq since the US-led invasion in March 2003.

Britain was part of the 2003 US-led coalition that invaded Iraq, and currently has about 4,100 troops stationed in the country, most of whom are based just outside the southern city of Basra.

SH (P)

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