UK troops kill 16 after ambush

British troops control Southern Iraq

British troops have fought off three ambushes in southern Iraq, leaving 16 insurgents dead, the UK military says.

Two soldiers were hurt but their wounds were not described as life threatening.

The battle came after militiamen attacked a British convoy 18 miles south of the town of Amara with rocket propelled grenades and small arms.

Reinforcements had to be called in during the fire-fight which also wounded one man and led to the capture of another.

The convoy drove through the first ambush but was attacked a second and then a third time.

A spokesman for the Ministry of Defence said troops had sent "a clear sign" that they would not tolerate "hostile action by a minority of militia forces".

Cleric call

At Friday prayers in Basra, where the majority of UK troops are based, a senior Shia cleric called for suicide attacks on coalition forces.

Sheik Abdul-Sattar al-Bahadli said he would form militias and asked the city's residents to register on Saturday.

Mr al-Bahadli is loyal to Moqtada Sadr, the Shia cleric whose forces are involved in a series of battles with US troops in Iraq's holy city of Najaf.

Last week British troops had to restore calm to Basra after clashes with insurgents left a number of Iraqis dead and British soldiers injured.

The violence happened after Mr al-Bahadli offered money for the capture or killing of coalition troops.

On Friday in Amara, Farqad al-Mousawi, another aide to Mr Sadr, warned members of the Iraqi police and civil defence corps they risked assassination if they helped US soldiers fight militants in Najaf.