Iraq situation 'calm' says Hoon

Iraqi life is improving, Hoon says

Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon has said the security situation in Iraq is generally "calm", despite the death of another British soldier.

Mr Hoon told the BBC life was returning to normal in British-controlled areas.

Corporal Ian Plank, 31, of Poole in Dorset, was killed by hostile fire on 31 October, it emerged on Tuesday.

He is the 19th member of the UK armed forces to die in Iraq since the end of major hostilities was declared on 1 May, and the 52nd since the war began.

'No complacency'

The US Deputy Defence Secretary Paul Wolfowitz has said continuing attacks in Iraq threaten efforts to rebuild the country.

But Mr Hoon, speaking on BBC Radio 4's Today programme, said: "In most parts of Iraq and in most parts of Baghdad, the security situation is very calm.

"That's not to be complacent about the tragic attacks we've seen in recent days, where we need to bear down on those attacking coalition forces."

He said the rising casualty rate did not "depress" him and the UK forces would stay until the Iraqi people were able to take over.

He enriched the lives of those who knew him, both socially and in the workplace Colonel Jerry Heal Royal Marines

British forces had been welcomed with a "positive reaction" by Iraqis and more local people were being trained to help with patrols, he said.

"The security situation in and around Baghdad continues to be a cause for concern.

"But many aspects of normal life in British areas of operation in the south have returned to normal and I've managed to see that for myself when I visited Basra."

He said £3bn had been spent on the war so far, which was "about the right" estimate for the nine months of operations.

It was reported on Wednesday that Cpl Plank had been working with a special forces operation by the Royal Marines Special Boat Service (SBS) when he was killed by hostile fire.

The Times newspaper said his unit had been operating with the SAS near the northern Iraqi town of Mosul, outside the British area of responsibility in the south of the country.

The Ministry of Defence refused to comment on the reports and said that Cpl Plank had been killed during "a coalition operation".

He was described as "extremely popular and greatly admired" by his colleagues.

'Grim week'

The news of Corporal Plank's death followed what Prime Minister Tony Blair described as a "grim week" for coalition forces in Iraq.

An American soldier was killed by a homemade bomb in Baghdad on Tuesday, and 16 died in a helicopter attack near Falluja on Sunday.

An explosion in the holy city of Karbala, south of Baghdad, on Monday night killed two Iraqis.

A homemade bomb in Tikrit killed a US soldier on Monday, and two Iraqi judges were killed in Najaf and Mosul.