British soldiers targeted in Iraq bomb

A British patrol unit was targeted by a roadside bomb in Basra last night, which was followed by a clash between troops and unidentified gunmen, a Basra police spokesman said today.

Neither police nor British authorities released information on any casualties, although news footage showed blood at the scene.

Police spokesman Kareem al-Zaidi said that the Iraqi Army was searching central Basra for the gunmen involved in the attack. Sporadic shooting could be heard and some roads were closed.

Basra, Iraq’s second-largest city, is about 340 miles south-east of Baghdad. Britain handed control of Basra, an oil-rich area that is predominantly Shiite, back to the Iraqi government in December, though there are still British troops in the area.