A British soldier and two US troops have been killed, as well as 12 coalition personnel injured in an attack by rockets on a military base in Iraq.
Britain’s defence secretary has condemned the attack that killed a British soldier as “cowardly and retrograde”.
This death is the first time a British serviceperson has been killed by enemy fire since the UK launched its operation alongside allies in 2014 against Islamic State .
A total of four British service personnel have died taking part in Operation Shader.
The agressors in the tragedy have yet to claim responsibility for the barrage of rockets that struck Camp Taji, to the north of Baghdad, on Wednesday.
An Iranian-backed militia, Kataib Hezbollah, has in the past targeted US-led coalition forces.
If this militia was involved, it could potentially trigger a significant response from the United States against the group and also against Iran.
Credit: Pic: Iraqi security media cell
Iraqi security personnel discovered a “rocket-rigged truck” a few miles away from the base, this truck was used to launch about 18 Katyusha rockets hit the camp, they said.
The Prime Minister expressed his “deep sadness” at the death of a member of the Royal Army Medical Corps. The family of the British soldier have been informed.
“My thoughts go out to their loved ones at this extremely difficult time,” Boris Johnson said in a statement.
“We will continue to stay in close contact with our coalition partners to establish exactly what happened.”
Ben Wallace, Britain’s defence secretary said on the attack:
“The men and women of the UK armed forces are in Iraq to help that country establish stability and prosperity. The people that did this are not friends of Iraq,”
