Five killed in Iraq gun battle

A British foot patrol came under attack in the southern city of Amarah today, sparking a seven-and-a-half-hour gun battle with insurgents in the city centre that left five Iraqis dead and six British soldiers injured, witnesses and a British forces spokesman said.

Witnesses said the five Iraqis killed were members of radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr’s al-Mahdi Army. The bodies of the dead were brought to al-Sadr’s office in the town, they said.