Even Shiite-Held Basra Is Safe Zone No More

Posted on May 6, 2006

The crash of a British helicopter in the southern Iraqi city of Basra led to a crackdown by British soldiers and five Iraqi deaths. A melee ensued--stone-throwing, Molotov cocktails.... A BBC correspondent called the worsening situation a “dramatic change in attitude” toward the British presence.

BBC:

British soldiers have clashed with Iraqis after a number of UK servicemen died in a helicopter crash in the southern city of Basra.

Iraqi police claimed five local people were shot dead in the unrest, although they did not know who fired the shots.

The city has been placed under a night-time curfew to defuse tensions.

Earlier Basra police said the aircraft crashed into a house after being hit by a rocket, but British ministers said the cause of the crash was unclear.

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