UK airman killed in Iraq attack

British military headquarters in Iraq are at Basra air base

A British airman has died following a rocket attack on a military base in Basra, southern Iraq.

The serviceman, attached to the Royal Air Force's 903 Expeditionary Air Wing, was killed in the attack on the base on Friday evening.

The serviceman's family has been informed, said the Ministry of Defence.

The death takes the number of UK troops killed in Iraq to 175. The last fatality was a member of 1st Battalion The Scots Guards, killed in December.

British troops transferred control of Basra province to the Iraqi authorities later the same month, four and a half years after the US-led invasion of the country.

The handover was considered a significant milestone towards Britain's final withdrawal from operations in Iraq.

There are more than 4,000 British troops in Iraq, now employed in a role focused on training Iraqi forces.

The government has said it plans to reduce that number to 2,500 during the spring of this year.