Seven Iraqis Killed When Bus Hits UK Army Vehicle

The mini bus hit the army vehicle at high speed from behind.

At least seven Iraqis died when a bus carrying Shi'ite Muslim pilgrims crashed into a parked British army vehicle near the southern city of Basra, British and Iraqi officials said on Wednesday.

Around 45 people were injured in the accident near Basra airport late on Tuesday night, which Iraqi traffic police blamed on the British soldiers.

The British armoured vehicle was on a routine night patrol and was stationary at the time of the accident, British military spokesman Major Bill Young said.

The bus hit the army vehicle from behind at high speed, he said.

Iraqi traffic police blamed the British for parking on both sides of the road without lights at a checkpoint near the airport, where the remainder of the British force that took part in the 2003 U.S.-led invasion to oust Saddam Hussein is based.

"Due to that the driver of the bus was surprised by them and the accident happened. They were parking in an area where parking is not allowed. The weather was foggy," said police Colonel Riyadh al-Idani, head of the media department at the Basra traffic directorate.

"The accident analysis proves that the British are to blame for the incident. We have written a report and filed it to the appropriate authorities," he said.

Basra is Iraq's second largest city and the heart of its oil industry.

The passengers on the bus were Shi'ite pilgrims returning from the holy city of Kerbala after the end of Arbain, one of the most important religious events in the Shi'ite calendar.