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.

A group of gunmen attacked the governor’s building, trading fire with guards. British troops arrived to reinforce the guards and took control of the building, witnesses said.

At least one person was wounded, but the full extent of casualties was not immediately known.

The fighting came a day after al-Sadr’s top aide in Basra, Sheikh Abdul-Sattar al-Bahadli, told worshippers during Friday prayers that £230 would be given to anyone who captures a British soldier and offered £100 for killing one. He also said, “Any Iraqi who takes a female soldiers can keep her as a slave or gift to himself.”

Al-Sadr’s al-Mahdi Army militia controls the holy Shiite cities of Najaf, Kufa and Karbala, clashing with US and other coalition troops there. It is also active in Basra, in Iraq’s far south, but has not dominated the city.