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| Four UK servicemen dead in Iraq | |
| (10 minutes later) | |
| Four British servicemen have been killed following an attack on a Multi National Forces boat patrol in southern Iraq, the Ministry of Defence has said. | Four British servicemen have been killed following an attack on a Multi National Forces boat patrol in southern Iraq, the Ministry of Defence has said. |
| A further three suffered serious injuries in the attack which took place during a routine patrol along the Shatt Al Arab waterway in Basra. | |
| The boat was hit by an "improvised explosive device", said Captain Tane Dunlop, speaking from Basra. | |
| It brings the total number of UK troops killed in Iraq to 125. | |
| 'Unusual' | |
| Capt Dunlop said: "The use of improvised explosive devices is very common in Iraq, more often further north but there have been a number of such attacks in the Basra province and Basra city. | |
| "It is slightly unusual in that this time it was targeting a boat, but they're usually used against any form of multi-national forces or personnel." | |
| He said the injured servicemen had been evacuated to a field hospital where they were receiving medical attention. | |
| Among the injured, at least one was suffering from potentially life-threatening injuries, he said. | |
| There were no further details on the servicemen's units or ranks. | |
| In a separate incident, the US military says three American soldiers have been killed in combat while operating in western Al-Anbar province. | |
| And two suicide bombers have killed 35 people and wounded 60 at a police commando recruiting centre in western Baghdad, police say. |