14 soldiers hurt as hundreds riot in Basra

Key points
• Second attack on UK forces in 5 days leaves 14 soldiers wounded, 3 seriously, at civil disturbance in Basra
• Troops sheltered behind riot shields and fired tear gas as they came under rock, grenade and petrol-bomb attack
• Attack is not thought to be the work of 'terrorists'

Key quote: "The people of Basra were demonstrating about local conditions, such as jobs and the electricity supply. This is a daily occurrence and British troops normally police these without any problems." MOD Spokesman.

Story in full: FOURTEEN British soldiers were injured yesterday in the southern Iraqi city of Basra when they came under attack from demonstrators throwing petrol bombs, rocks and a grenade.

At least three of the soldiers suffered serious injuries when the grenade exploded, although the Ministry of Defence said they were not life-threatening. Other soldiers suffered burns as the petrol ignited and splashed on to their helmets, uniforms and skin.

The demonstration, two miles north of the British military headquarters in one of Saddam’s old palaces, had started peacefully but protesters became agitated and British troops sheltering behind full-length riot shields fired tear gas to disperse the crowd. Some demonstrators appeared to be angry about Israel’s killing of the Hamas leader, Ahmed Yassin, and according to witnesses they were chanting: "We are all sons of Yassin."

News of the attack on the British troops was broken in the House of Commons by the defence minister, Adam Ingram. He told MPs that the troops had been injured as a result of two explosions in the city.

It is the second attack on British troops in the city in the space of five days. Last week, five Iraqis died when a car bomb was detonated as a British patrol passed by in the city. Basra had previously escaped the worst of the violence directed at coalition troops in Iraq.

An MoD spokesman said that yesterday’s attackers appeared to have deliberately targeted coalition forces and there were no reports of Iraqi civilians or police being wounded.

"The people of Basra were demonstrating about local conditions, such as jobs and the electricity supply," he said. "This is a daily occurrence and British troops normally police these without any problems."

But he added: "This attack seems to have deliberately targeted coalition forces."

The injured troops were taken by helicopter to the Shaibah military hospital at a coalition airbase outside the city.

The chief of Basra customs, Colonel Zafer Abdel-Nabi, said that the demonstrators had thrown rocks, petrol bombs and a grenade at the troops. Nine of the soldiers were wounded in a grenade explosion, he added.

Some demonstrators were reported to have shouted slogans in support of Saddam Hussein.

An Ministry of Defence spokeswoman in Basra said the explosion occurred around 1:45pm local time.

"The incident is not thought to be terrorist related but stemmed from a public order incident that was being brought under control," she said.

Three of the soldiers suffered serious injuries, she confirmed.

"The exact circumstances surrounding the incident are being investigated.

"This will not deter the coalition forces or the vast majority of Iraqi people from continuing to work to maintain and improve the security and infrastructure of Basra."

Prior to yesterday’s incident, British commanders had said that attacks on their troops had been decreasing in recent weeks.

The British commander in Basra, Brigadier Nick Carter, said last week that over the past four months, the number of incidents had fallen by around 50 per cent compared to when they first entered the city.