Free Republic

The army is investigating the death of a British soldier shot in Iraq after claims by colleagues that he had not been issued with the correct body armour. Sergeant Steven Roberts, 33, a tank commander with the Desert Rats, was shot in the chest during a riot near Zubayr, near Basra, on March 23. He was the first British soldier to be killed in action in the Iraq conflict. During the build-up to the invasion, many British soldiers had complained about kit shortages. A number told reporters that they had flak jackets but had not been given the ceramic plates...

<p>NEAR AZ ZUBAYR, Iraq (AP) -- Just after dawn, an armored assault vehicle with the words, "Saddam Vaccine" painted on four sides drew close to an Iraqi naval base.</p> <p>The back ramp dropped and 23 Marines from Echo Company's 1st Platoon poured out, flopping onto their stomachs in defensive positions behind sand dunes.</p>

Skirmishes flare in southern Iraqi town of Zubayr ZUBAYR, Iraq, March 27 (Reuters) - It's only 35 km (20 miles) from Kuwait and almost 600 km (370 miles) from Baghdad, but one week into the invasion of Iraq, it's still not been fully secured by U.S.-British forces. In Zubayr, the nearest Iraqi town to Kuwait, British troops were firing from artillery and machineguns on Thursday. Little puffs of smoke rose over the town, Reuters reporter Rosalind Russell said. "We were targeting some militia who were holed up in a house on the outskirts," said Sergeant Jeremy Rendle, a British tank...