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Basra base suffers 'large fire' | Basra base suffers 'large fire' |
(10 minutes later) | |
An "indirect attack" caused a large fire at a British military base in Basra, a military spokesman has said. | |
A petrol storage area caught alight after indirect fire hit the Iraq base, which is near the Shatt al-Arab Hotel in the centre of the city. | |
There were no casualties and "no impact whatsoever on operations", the spokesman said. | There were no casualties and "no impact whatsoever on operations", the spokesman said. |
The blaze happened at the base, which comes under regular attack, at 1800 local time (1500 GMT) on Thursday. | |
There are 7,100 British personnel in Iraq, largely based in the south of the country, mainly in Basra. | |
The government announced last month that 1,600 troops are to be withdrawn within the next few months with hopes that another 500 will leave by late summer. |