A soldier killed by a roadside bomb in Basra yesterday became the 100th British military victim of hostile action in Iraq since Operation Telic began in March 2003.

The soldier, who was standing in the turret of a Warrior armoured vehicle when the bomb exploded, was from the 2nd Battalion The Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment. He was also the 29th British serviceman to have been killed by a roadside bomb planted by Shia extremists in southern Iraq.

The devices, which have increased in sophistication over the past three years, have proved to be one of the deadliest weapons in the hands of the Shia insurgents.

The latest victim had been part of a routine patrol near the US Consulate in the district of al-Ashshar in Basra. Defence sources said that he had been exposed to the blast because he had been standing up in the turret and was not protected by the Warrior’s armour. His relatives have been informed. The explosion, at 9.30am local time, also caused a number of injuries among civilians. Another soldier on the patrol received minor injuries but did not require hospital treatment.

Of the ninety-eight servicemen and two servicewomen who have died in combat in Operation Telic, 81 are classed by the MoD as having being killed in action and 19 as having died of wounds during hostile action.

A further 31 servicemen and women have died as a result of noncombat injuries, illness or traffic accidents. Up to January 17 this year, 329 servicemen have been wounded in action, 52 of them classed as very seriously injured, which normally indicates the loss of a limb.

Times Recommends

• Karadzic found freedom in the Madhouse
• Bears kill guards at Russian mine
• Hotel is a monument to new North Korea