Aftermath of ambush that killed four British soldiers and Kuwaiti interpreter

(5 Apr 2007) SHOTLIST 1. Various of people at scene of the attack 2. Crater in ground from blast 3. Various of bullet shells on ground 4. SOUNDBITE: (Arabic) Raheem Mady, eyewitness: "At 02:30 (22:30 GMT Wednesday) a military convoy of about five tanks passed through here. A bomb exploded near them just as they were passing through there. There were four dead, three or four injured and one of the vehicles was completely destroyed." 5. Various of people at scene of the blast 6. Bullet shells on ground 7. Man holding British military helmet 8. Various of helmet on the ground 9. Various of British military vehicles 10. Various of British troops at scene of the blast 11. Soldier climbing into British military vehicle 12. Pullout of British tank on the side of road STORYLINE Four British soldiers and a Kuwaiti interpreter were killed on Thursday in an ambush in southern Iraq, the British military said. The patrol struck a roadside bomb and was hit by small-arms fire about 02:00 local time (22:00 GMT Wednesday) in the Hayaniyah district west of Basra, 550 kilometres (340 miles) southeast of Baghdad, a British military spokesperson said. According to latest reports, two women were among the four killed. The female soldiers were inside a Warrior armoured vehicle returning from patrol near Basra when insurgents struck. Another British soldier was seriously wounded in the blast. Raheem Mady, an eyewitness at the scene, told the Associated Press that he was watching five military vehicles pass through the area, when a bomb exploded, completely destroying one of the vehicles. "At 02:30 (22:30 GMT Wednesday) a military convoy of about five tanks passed through here. A bomb exploded near them just as they were passing through there. There were four dead, three or four injured and one of the vehicles was completely destroyed," Mady said. Iraqi police officials in Basra said the British patrol had detained First Lieutenant Haidar al-Jazaeri of the Interior Ministry's Major Crimes Unit earlier that day and were on their way back when they hit the roadside bomb. According to police, gunmen then opened fire on the convoy from three different directions, causing more casualties. British troops backed by helicopters cordoned off the area for about two hours after the attack, Iraqi officials said. So far, 140 British soldiers have died in Iraq since the March 2003 invasion, 109 of them killed in combat. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...