Two British soldiers were killed and two others injured by a roadside bomb near the southern Iraqi city of Basra on Monday, British Ministry of Defense (MoD) confirmed.

"The soldiers died following an attack on a British patrol near the town of Ad Dayr, north of Basra City. The patrol was subject to an attack by a roadside bomb and small arms fire." the MoD said in a statement.

"One other British soldier was seriously injured, and a further soldier suffered minor injuries." said the MoD, adding that "both have been evacuated for emergency medical care and taken by helicopter to a British Field Hospital at Shaibah Logistics Base."

The deaths has raised the number of British troops killed in Iraq to 117 since March 2003.

Currently, Britain has some 7,200 troops in southern Iraq, most in the Basra area and about 800 in southern Maysan province.

Source: Xinhua