One British soldier has been killed and two were wounded when a roadside bomb hit a military ambulance in the southern city of Basra.
"A British military ambulance was targeted by an improvisedexplosive device in the outskirts of Basra's city centre this morning. One serviceman was killed and two suffered non-life threatening wounds," a British military spokesman said.
It was the first British fatality in a hostile incidentsince June 25th when six soldiers were killed in the southernvillage of Majjar.
The spokesman said the roadside bomb was hidden in a pile ofearth next to a lamp post. He said the ambulance, which wasclearly marked, supported British soldiers and Iraqi civilians. He said it was too early to speculate on who was behind the attack.
Major Charlie Mayo said such attacks would not deter coalition forces from helping the Iraqi people and achieve peace in the country.
The soldier's death raised to 15 the number of British soldiers killed in attacks since US and British forces invaded Iraq on March 20th.