Boy, 14, is shot dead 'by British soldier'

An Army investigation is under way into an incident in which an Iraqi boy was shot dead in the southern city of Basra, reportedly by a British soldier.

The boy, 14, named by the BBC yesterday as Ali Salim, was playing and laughing with a soldier near a school used by troops from the Queen's Dragoon Guards. He sustained a single bullet wound to the abdomen at very close range and died later in hospital.

A Ministry of Defence spokesman said the Royal Military Police were looking into the incident, which is believed to have taken place yesterday. He could not confirm whether the boy had been shot by a British soldier, but said there had been a "shooting incident" and a boy had died.

"There has been an unfortunate and tragic incident which is currently being investigated by the Royal Military Police," he said. "We won't know how the incident occurred until the investigation has been completed."

Captain Crispian Cuss, a British Army spokesman in Basra, said initial inquiries showed the incident was "in no way malicious". He said: "It appears to have been a very unfortunate accident rather than anything else."