Saddam Hussein's troops had more heavy casualties yesterday in confrontations between allied troops pushing their way north to within 60 km of Baghdad.
On Monday, a British soldier was killed in action in fierce fighting around Basra in southern Iraq. The death brought to two the number of British soldiers killed in battle - a further 18 have died in accidents and "friendly fire" with the latest two fatalities reported last night in an incident near Basra. The two soldiers were from the Queen's Royal Lancers, part of the First Royal Regiment of Fusiliers Battle Group.
In addition, two British soldiers are still missing after their Land-Rover was ambushed on Sunday by Iraqi forces with a rocket-propelled grenade in Al Zubayr.
The US military said yesterday that 18 of its troops had died in combat.
More than 100 Iraqi bodies were seen along the road north from Nassiriya as marines headed towards Baghdad.
The Iraqi Information Minister, Mr Mohammad Said al-Sahhaf, said 16 civilians were killed and 95 wounded in allied bombing of Baghdad and other Iraqi cities since Monday night.
As allied forces continued their push north towards Baghdad, there were reports that four US marines were killed and a further 50 wounded following eight hours of fighting close to the city of Nassiriya.
US Marines earlier confirmed they suffered six deaths following fighting in Nassiriya and another 14 were wounded.
About 500 Iraqi fighters have been killed in the past two days by the 3rd Infantry Division's tanks and mechanised units as they swept through southern Iraq, according to a US military officials with the division.
At least 30 Iraqis who may have been on their way to reinforce the city of Nassiriya were killed yesterday in what appeared to be a bombing raid by US-led forces, a Reuters correspondent said.
US Air Force Maj Gen Victor Renuart warned Iraqi civilians yesterday to stay away from military formations and buildings used by Saddam's regime and its leaders. Commenting on Iraqi casualties, including children injured in US attacks, he said: "It is a tragedy to see the children that are injured."
Meanwhile a US F-16 fighter aircraft on Monday accidentally fired on a Patriot missile battery in southern Iraq, a spokeswoman at Central Command forward headquarters in Qatar said yesterday. There were no casualties.
"During combat air operations . . . on Monday, a US F-16 fighter engaged a US Patriot battery approximately 30 miles south of An Najaf," Central Command said in a statement. "The F-16 pilot executed the strike against the Patriot while en route to a mission near Baghdad . . . No soldiers were injured or killed by the strike," it said.
It was the second "friendly fire" incident involving a Patriot since the war in Iraq started last week. In the first, a British Tornado was shot down by a US Patriot missile as it returned to base. The two-man crew is reported as missing, believed dead.