SAS sergeant shot dead by iraq rebels

Last updated at 14:57 25 November 2006


An sas sergeant died yesterday after being shot by Iraqi insurgents in Basra.

He is thought to be the first member of the elite unit killed in action since Iraq was invaded in March 2003.

In total, 126 British military personnel have died in the conflict.

More here...

• British mine clearing expert loses leg in explosion

The soldier, who has not been named, was shot during a routine search and detention operation. He was rushed to a nearby military hospital but died later from his injuries. His death comes two days after Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett said Britain could hand security responsibility in southern Iraq to local authorities by next spring.

Yesterday, Kingsman Jamie Hancock, 19, of the 2nd Battalion, The Duke of Lancaster's Regiment, was buried at a cemetery near his home in Hindley Green, near Wigan. He was shot in Basra.

In Baghdad, Shi'ite Mahdi Army militiamen rampaged through the Sunni Hurriyah district, dousing men in kerosene and burning them to death. At least 30 Sunnis died in revenge for the slaughter of 215 people by Sunni insurgents in the capital's Shi'ite Sadr City slum.

Most watched News videos