British troops under fire in Iraq

Gunmen loyal to a radical Shiite cleric attacked British troops across Basra and tried to storm the governor’s building today, a day after the cleric’s representative in the city offered money for the capture or killing of coalition soldiers.

The black-garbed militiamen of cleric Muqtada al-Sadr moved in large numbers through the streets of the southern Iraqi city, opening fire on British patrols and sparking skirmishes in several neighbourhoods. A rocket-propelled grenade was fired at the US-led coaltition headquarters, witnesses said.