British security guard feared killed in Iraq shooting

A British security worker is feared dead and another injured in a shooting in Iraq, the Foreign Office says.

The private security workers were involved in clashes on Friday as they passed in convoy through Al Zubayr in southern Iraq, south west of Basra. British officials are investigating reports that the convoy may have clashed with Iraqi police. Reports from the town claimed two Iraqi policemen were killed and two women bystanders wounded in the clash.

An Iraqi police officer told the AFP news agency that a group of six security guards had been stopped by customs police when the clash occurred. But British military spokesman Lieutenant Commander Mike Baker told AFP that the six guards had been escorting a convoy of ambulances.

A spokesman for the Foreign Office confirmed that no British troops had been involved in the incident but an injured civilian with a gunshot wound had been taken to the Shaibah military base. When asked about Iraqi police involvement in the incident, a spokesman said it was thought that "some form of Iraqi troops" had been involved. He added: "We are not sure who they are at this stage."

The Foreign Office said the incident did not appear to be related to the kidnapping of five foreigners from a convoy near Basra on Thursday.

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