Three British soldiers killed in Iraq
Pastor Dale Morgan
Three British soldiers killed in Iraq*
By Sophie Borland
Last Updated: 1:45am BST 09/07/2007
Three British Servicemen were killed in Iraq in two days, officials said
last night.
The Ministry of Defence confirmed that a soldier died in hospital after
being injured during fighting in Basra over the weekend.
He had been serving with 3 Regiment Royal Military Police and was
wounded during an attempt to tackle insurgents in one of the biggest
operations by British troops this year.
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His relatives have been informed but he has not yet been named.
On Saturday morning another soldier was killed while taking part in the
same operation.
L/Cpl Ryan Francis, of the 2nd Battalion The Royal Welch, died when the
armoured Warrior vehicle he was driving was hit by a roadside bomb.
The 23-year-old soldier's father, Wyn, of Llanelli, South Wales, said
Ryan was a wonderful son.
Several locations were searched and arrests were made as part of the
operation but troops came under attack from bombs, rocket-propelled
grenades and gunfire.
Two other soldiers were injured during the fighting and are being
treated in the British field hospital in Basra. On Friday Rifleman
Edward Vakabua, 23, a Fijian of 4th Battalion The Rifles, died at the
Basra Palace base.
The MoD said an investigation had been launched into the cause of the
accident.
Vaka, as he was known to his friends, was from Suva, Fiji, and was
described as a "shy and pleasant character".
He was based in Bulford, Wilts. He had been serving in a mortar platoon
attached to 7 Platoon, B Company.
The deaths bring to 159 the total number of British casualties killed in
Iraq.