Al-Qaida chief killed in raid

British troops have killed a senior al-Qaida figure during a major raid in Iraq, the Uk ministry of defence said today.

Some 250 soldiers stormed the house where Omar Farouq was staying in Basra last night.

Farouq – who has been linked to a series of kidnappings and murders and was believed to be a top lieutenant of Osama bin Laden – was shot when he resisted arrest, according to the MoD.

An MoD spokesman said: “A deliberate operation was carried out against a known terrorist.

“When he opened fire on the troops he was killed in a return of fire.”

The soldiers involved were two companies from 1 Battalion the Princess of Wales’s regiment, according to the spokesman.