British man killed while defusing Isis bomb in Iraqi city of Ramadi

The man was working with Janus clearing mines left by fleeing militants

Security forces and contractors are clearing explosives in Ramadi after driving Isis out (Reuters)

A British man has died while defusing a mine left by Isis militants after they were driven out of an Iraqi city.

The man, who has not been named, was working for the American security contractor Janus when he was killed in Ramadi on Monday.

A spokesperson for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office said she could not confirm any further details, adding: “We are in contact with the employer of a British national who has died in Iraq and have offered our support at this difficult time.”

It is the first known death of a British national, excluding Isis recruits, in the current Iraq conflict.

Dean Carl Evans, a British volunteer with Kurdish forces, was killed fighting Isis in Syria earlier this year and several Americans have also died battling extremists.

Another British worker was injured while clearing ordnance in the al-Malaab district of Ramadi, which lies 60 miles west of Baghdad. An internal investigation has started into the incident.

Iraqi security forces re-took the city from the so-called Islamic State with support from coalition air strikes in December, but were met by a network of booby traps and IEDs left by the extremists.

The US Department of State awarded Janus a $20 million (£15 million) contract to clear mines in Ramadi earlier this year.

“The clearance of unexploded ordnance has allowed the restoration of water, electricity, healthcare, and schools, as well as some housing,” a spokesperson said last month.

“We must help Iraqis clear this ordnance and clear these battlefields so that IDPs can return home safely and resume their lives.”

Isis captured Ramadi, the capital of Anbar Province, in May 2015 in a major blow to Iraqi security forces.

A long campaign to retake the city was hampered by snipers, booby traps and the destruction forces of all bridges leading to its centre by Isis forces.

Dozens of Iraqis have been killed in explosions while trying to return to their homes and similar tragedies have been reported in former Isis strongholds across Iraq, Syria and in Libya.

Iraqi forces are currently preparing for an assault on the terrorist group’s stronghold of Mosul, which is the largest Iraqi city still under the extremists’ control.

The army and Kurdish Peshmerga recently seized villages around a key military base to the south in preparation for the offensive, while Isis is reported to be carrying out a wave of beheadings and executions to deter deserters and spies.