UK soldier killed in Basra named

Sergeant Christian Ian Hickey, 30, of the 1st Battalion The Coldstream Guards, died from his injuries.

The married soldier from Bradford, West Yorkshire, was on a routine patrol in the southern Iraqi city when the attack happened.

His death brings the number of British troops killed in Iraq to 97 - 64 of them as a result of hostile activity.

The Commanding Officer of the 1st Battalion Coldstream Guards Battle Group, Lieutenant Colonel Nick Henderson, said Sgt Hickey had moved forward on foot to reconnoitre a route for the patrol when he was hit by the blast.

He said it was typical of Sgt Hickey that he had been leading from the front when he was killed, and praised him as the "epitome of a professional soldier".

UK Prime Minister Tony Blair sent his condolences to the soldier's family during Commons questions on Wednesday.

Major Steven Melbourne, based in Basra, said: "A British soldier died from the injuries sustained from a roadside blast at 11.23pm local time last night. The incident is under investigation."

The explosion happened on the eve of the start of former leader Saddam Hussein's trial.

In another attack, a US soldier was killed by a roadside bomb while on patrol near Iskandariyah, 50km (30 miles) south of Baghdad.