SAS Soldier Killed in Iraq Gunfight

An SAS soldier was killed in Iraq in a gunfight early yesterday during a covert operation in the Baghdad area, sources said last night.

The Ministry of defense, which does not comment officially on the activities of the UK's special forces, said only that a British soldier was shot and killed in Iraq. A spokesman said his next of kin had been informed.

The MoD said the family had asked that no further information be released. His death brings the total number of British military casualties in Iraq since the invasion in March 2003 to 176.

The soldier died as a result of gunshot wounds "sustained during a firefight in the early hours of Wednesday", the ministry said. However, it made clear that the soldier was not killed in Basra, where 4,100 of the 4,300 British troops still in Iraq are based. None of those soldiers have combat roles in the Iraqi forces' crackdown against rogue elements of Shia militia and criminals.

There are some 200 British soldiers in Baghdad, mainly on guard duty, but SAS soldiers - whose main task has been to track down al-Qaida fighters and kidnappers - are also active in the area.

Last November, an RAF Puma helicopter crashed, killing two SAS soldiers and seriously injuring two others, in an anti-insurgency mission on the outskirts of Baghdad. Seven SAS troops and three RAF crew survived the crash.

SAS patrols have been operating in Iraq since before the invasion. A squadron of about 60 from 22 SAS Regiment, based about 50 miles from Baghdad, is deployed there, often working with US special forces. Before the 2003 invasion, SAS troops were operating deep inside Iraq in small patrols on covert search missions.