Four British servicemen have been killed and three have suffered "very serious or serious injuries" following an attack on a Multi National Forces boat patrol in Iraq, the MoD has said.
An MoD spokesman said the boat was attacked while on a routine patrol on the Shatt Al Arab waterway in Basra city at 12.50pm local time.
Captain Tane Dunlop, a British Army spokesman in Basra, said the boat appeared to have been hit by an improvised explosive device (IED).
He told the BBC the injured men had been evacuated to the Shaibah logistics base by helicopter. They men were attacked while on a boat patrol on the Shatt Al Arab waterway at the point where the River Tigris joins the Euphrates.
"This forms the right hand edge of Basra City," Cpt Dunlop said.
He said it was unclear at this point where the IED was positioned. "At the moment we have our ammunition technical officers and weapons intelligence experts analysing what has happened. We do not have any details exactly on the positioning of the device at this time."
He said the explosive device appeared to hit the boat as it was going past.
Attacks from improvised explosive devices are not uncommon in Iraq, especially in the north of the country but it is unusual for such a weapon to be used against a boat.
Cpt Dunlop said: "The response (of the multi-national force) has been the response to all such events in that the first priority is to evacuate the casualties, which has been done. Also we will be carrying out a follow-up operation to target those responsible. Furthermore there will be a more considered follow up in terms of forensics with teams of explosive ordnance experts and weapons intelligence experts who will analyse the incident in minute detail."
He was unable to give any detail on which unit the men belonged to.
