Six British troops were killed in southern Iraq on Tuesday in an apparent ambush that has led to the single biggest loss of life in combat by British forces since the invasion of Iraq began in late March.
The soldiers appear to have died in an ambush near Al Amarah, about 200km north of Basra. A further eight troops from 1 Para were injured in what the UK Ministry of Defence said was a separate incident, when a patrol came under fire south of Al Amarah.