23 Coalition Troops Killed in Friendly Fire

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Wednesday, March 26, 2003

23 Coalition Troops Killed in Friendly Fire

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A British tank exchanged with a British tank. A US Patroit missile shot down a British war plane. Friendly fires and non-combat accidents have killed at least 23 soldiers of the US-British coalition forces fighting a war in Iraq to oust President Saddam Hussein since the war began.

The British Defense Ministry announced Tuesday that two Britishtank crew were killed late Monday in "a friendly fire" incident near the Iraqi second largest city of Basra.

The soldiers were killed Monday night in a friendly fire incident from another British Challenger during a night battle with Iraqi forces on the outskirts of Basra, said a spokesman for the Ministry of Defense.

The two soldiers were from the Queen's Royal Lancers operating a Challenger II main battle tank, the spokesman said.

"It is with deep regret that the Ministry of Defense has to confirm the death of Corporal Stephen John Allbutt, 35, and Trooper David Jeffrey Clarke, 19," he added.

Army chiefs investigating the incident have not disclosed whether the tank which fired the fatal shot was from the same regiment.

The Challenger II is the British Army's main battle tank and entered service in June 1998. Its advanced thermal imaging system, used to function at night, is regarded as the best in the world.

Also on Monday, a US F-16 plane hit a Patriot battery by mistake near Iraq's southern Shiite city of Najaf.

The bombing knocked out its radar but fortunately causing no casualties, Lt.Mark Kitchens, a US Central Command spokesman, was quoted as confirming, adding it took place on Monday about 30 miles (48 kilometers) from Najaf.

The F-16 fired an AGM-88 high-speed anti-radiation missile at the battery and damaged its radar, the spokesman said.

Early on Sunday, the US troops fired a Patriot missile at a British Royal Air Force Tornado plane over the Gulf. Two British crew were killed.

US Ambassador to Britain William Farish told the BBC on Sunday that the loss of the plane was "absolutely terrible."

"Friendly fire is something we have lived with for ages throughout wars, but to have it happen in a way like this is very sad," Farish said.

The loss of the Tornado, which normally carries a two-man crew, came after two Royal Navy Sea King helicopters from the Ark Royal collided over the Gulf last Saturday, with the loss of all seven crew members including one American.

The helicopter collision followed an American helicopter crash last Friday. A CH-46 Sea Knight crashed over the Kuwaiti desert, killing eight British marines and four American service personnel.

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