Saturday, May 06, 2006 2:24:50 PM ET
By Aref Mohammed and Alaa Habib BASRA, Iraq (Reuters) - A British military helicopter was
brought down in the city of Basra on Saturday, killing four
people on board, Iraqi officials said, sparking clashes between
troops and angry youths throwing petrol bombs. Britain's government said "a number of" British military
personnel were killed and said the cause was unclear. Police
said a rocket hit the helicopter and firefighters said they
found four charred bodies in the aircraft, which hit a house. No one on the ground was hurt in the crash, police said. Morgue officials said they knew of four Iraqis killed in
the confused hours of violence after youths at the crash site
chanted victory slogans for the Mehdi Army, a Shi'ite militia
opposed to the occupation. "I can confirm the tragic deaths of a number of British
service personnel," said Defense Secretary Des Browne,
appointed only on Friday in a cabinet reshuffle. As troops in Warrior armored battle vehicles, some with
riot shields, cordoned off the area, youths chanting "Victory
to the Mehdi Army" threw rocks and petrol bombs. Soldiers used
foam to douse fires ignited on their vehicles. British military spokesman Squadron Leader Al Green said
troops counted about 60 rounds fired in the air from the crowd
-- not uncommon in Iraq. In London, a Ministry of Defense statement said British
forces fired three live rounds in defense when they came under
attack. A local journalist said he was hit in the leg by a British
baton round and saw troops aim their ordinary rifles. He said
he saw at least one man dead. Witnesses said a second man may
have died in a car, the windshield of which was smashed and
bloodied. Several people, including children, were wounded when a
mortar round later struck a house nearby, witnesses said.
LESS VIOLENCE Dominated by the Shi'ite Muslim majority now in control in
Baghdad, Basra has seen less violence than cities in the north.
However, friction between the occupying force and militia
groups such as the Mehdi Army of Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr
does flare up. British military sources confirmed ground fire seemed the
likeliest explanation for the crash, near the local governor's
office. The make of the helicopter was not clear. Basra police spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Kareem al-Zaidi
said: "A Multi-National Forces helicopter was hit by a rocket." Dozens have died when helicopters have been brought down in
Iraq, many not by guided missiles, of which guerrillas have
few, but by gunfire and rocket-propelled grenades. They tend to
fly fast and low, to reduce the time attackers have to take
aim. Sadr, a firebrand in his early 30s, demands an end to the
U.S. and British occupation. He is a key figure in the Islamist
Alliance bloc that will lead a new Iraqi government. In September last year, British forces clashed with Mehdi
Army militants. The British public was startled by images of a
soldier escaping an armored vehicle, his uniform in flames. Senior British officers have complained that rival Shi'ite
militia factions have effectively taken control of different
elements of Iraq's second city, close to the Gulf and the
border with Shi'ite Iran, 550 km (340 miles) south of Baghdad. Before Saturday, 104 British service personnel had died in
Iraq. About 8,000 are deployed there, with 133,000 Americans.
UNITY GOVERNMENT There were signs of agreement among Iraqi leaders that a
unity government could be formed soon. Shi'ite Vice-President
Adel Abdul Mahdi said: "I expect the announcement will come in
the next few days ... There are no serious complications." Sectarian bloodshed has increased since the destruction of
a major Shi'ite shrine in Samarra in February, prompting
warnings of civil war and adding to pressure from Washington
and London for Iraqis to settle their differences quickly. Both the United States and Britain are keen to withdraw as
many troops as possible as quickly as possible and are building
up Iraq's own army and police to that end. Three Iraqi Army officers, including a lieutenant-colonel,
were killed inside their base by a suicide bomber in Saddam
Hussein's home town of Tikrit on Saturday, police said. It was not the first time an insurgent had dressed in army
uniform and evaded identity checks to attack Iraqi soldiers. (Additional reporting by Alaa Habib in Basra and Ahmed
Rasheed, Lutfi Abu Oun, Ibon Villelabeitia, Mariam Karouny,
Terry Friel and Alastair Macdonald in Baghdad and David Clarke
in London) (c) Reuters 2006. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by caching, framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters and the Reuters sphere logo are registered trademarks and trademarks of the Reuters group of companies around the world. |