RAF men killed in attack on Basra base
Updated on 20 July 2007
Three RAF personnel have been killed in a mortar attack on their base in southern Iraq.
Two of the men were from 1 Squadron RAF Regiment and the other was from 504 Squadron Royal Auxiliary Air Force.
Next of kin have been informed and the men may be named later today.
An Ministry of Defence spokeswoman said they were killed in an "indirect fire attack on the Contingency Operating Base in Basra, Iraq.
"For operational security reasons we are unable to give any further details."
The deaths bring the total number of British military casualties since hostilities in Iraq began to 162.
Of those, 126 died in action. The rest of the deaths were accidents or linked to natural causes, illness, remain unexplained, or are still under investigation.
The MoD spokeswoman would not comment further on the circumstances of the deaths or whether the three men were evacuated or died at the scene.
The deaths follow two military fatalities on July 7 when Lance Corporal Ryan Francis, 23, of 2nd Battalion The Royal Welsh, and Corporal Christopher Read, 22, of 158 Provost Company, 3rd Regiment Royal Military Police were killed.
Lnc Cpl Francis from Llanelli, south Wales was killed by an improvised explosive devise in north Basra during a large-scale operation to arrest individuals suspected of attacks.
Cpl Read, originally from Poole in Dorset, was fatally injured by small arms fire while on his way back from the same operation.
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