Roadside bomb kills British soldier

One British soldier was killed and another seriously injured when a roadside bomb exploded, a British official in Iraq said today.

One British soldier was killed and another seriously injured when a roadside bomb exploded, a British official in Iraq said today.

The incident occurred in the southern Iraqi city of Basra, where nearly 5,000 supporters of radical cleric Muqtada Sadr took to the streets today, demanding that US troops withdraw from Najaf and condemning Prime Minister Iyad Allawi for his perceived support of the Americans

Squadron Leader Spike Wilson said: "An explosive device was detonated near a passing British patrol. A British solider was killed and another seriously injured."

Mr Wilson said the exact details of the incident would not be released until the next of kin had been informed.

This death - the second UK soldier killed this week in Basra - takes the number of British service personnel killed since hostilities began in March 2003 to 64.