Three soldiers killed in southern Iraq

Three British soldiers were killed early today during hostile action in southern Iraq, the British command said.

The clash occurred in the southern city of Amarah, in Maysan province north of Basra, the British command said.

“We can confirm that three soldiers from Task Force Maysan have died from injuries sustained in hostile action in the early hours of Saturday morning,” a British spokesman.

British losses have been far fewer than those suffered by the larger US force, which is bearing the brunt of the fight against Sunni Arab insurgents in northern, western and central Iraq.

Britain’s force is largely based in the mostly Shiite southern Iraq, where support for the Shiite-led government in Baghdad is stronger.

Last November three British soldiers were killed in a suicide vehicle bombing at a checkpoint in the “triangle of death” of south-central Iraq. British soldiers were temporarily sent to the volatile area to reinforce the Americans who were besieging the Sunni insurgent stronghold of Fallujah at the time.