BAGHDAD, Iraq — Attackers fired on British forces in southern Iraq on today, killing six troops and wounding eight others in the deadliest day of combat for coalition forces since the fall of Saddam Hussein.
The attacks near the town of Amarah were a surprise outbreak of violence in Iraq's largely Shiite south, which has largely been quiet even as American troops in central and western Iraq have come under near daily hit-and-run attacks.
The British, who control the south, have felt secure enough to patrol the country's second-biggest city, Basra, without flak jackets or helmets.
The six British soldiers were killed in the first of two separate attacks, British Army Capt. Dennis Abbott said.
He said Iraqis fired on the British troops in that attack, but he declined to give further details.
Gen. Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, extended condolences to the families of the British soldiers killed.
"These losses are a reminder that Iraq remains a dangerous place," Myers said at the Pentagon. "But we must continue to stand firm. Our forces role in establishing and maintaining security is critical to the stability and security of Iraq and also to our war on terrorism."
The other attack — in which eight British troops were wounded, three of them seriously — occurred only a few miles away near the Tigris River city, 90 miles north of Basra.
Gunmen fired on a patrol, wounding one soldier. A helicopter dispatched to help then came under fire as it landed and seven people on board were wounded, three of them seriously, said British Prime Minister Tony Blair's office.
Two British army vehicles also were destroyed, Abbott said.
It was the deadliest day for coalition forces since May 19, when six U.S. Marines died, most in a helicopter crash and a vehicle accident.
The only deadlier single attack came on March 23, the early days of the U.S.-led invasion, when Iraqis opened fire on a U.S. Army maintenance unit near the southern town of Nasiriyah, killing 11 soldiers. Several soldiers were captured, including Pfc. Jessica Lynch, who later was rescued by American commandos.
At least 18 U.S. soldiers have been killed in Iraqi attacks since May 1, when major combat was declared over. Those attacks have largely been blamed on Saddam loyalists and occurred mainly in the belt of central and western Iraq known as the "Sunni Triangle" where Saddam had his strongest support.
The British, however, have not seen major violence for weeks.
"It's normally very quiet down here," said British Army Lt. Col. Ronnie McCourt, in Basra. "We've been here nearly two months now and this is the first time people have been deliberately, consciously shooting at us."
Abbott insisted the day of attacks "in no way reflects the general security situation across the U.K. area of operations."
Forty-two British troops have died — 19 in accidents — since the war began March 20.
Britain had suffered no confirmed combat deaths since April 6. Since then, two British servicemen died in accidents, another of natural causes and a fourth in an explosion still under investigation.
Officials at the Pentagon said insurgents were ratcheting up anti-U.S. attacks, staging 25 of them in the past day alone. American troops battled Iraqis at a checkpoint in Ramadi, west of Baghdad, today, leaving three Iraqis dead and one American wounded.
Iraqi insurgents fired rocket-propelled grenades at U.S. troops in at least three towns in western Iraq. In Baghdad, guerrillas fired a grenade near the headquarters of the U.S. administration today. No injuries were reported in that attack.
Late Monday, insurgents fired a rocket-propelled grenade at the mayor's office in Fallujah, the latest in a series of attacks against people believed to be cooperating with U.S. occupation forces in Iraq.
U.S. troops shot and killed one of the ambushers in Fallujah, a town 35 miles west of Baghdad, U.S. military officers said. But local residents at the scene said the man killed was not involved in the attack and was caught in the crossfire.
During the past 24 hours, the U.S. military said it had conducted 1,068 day patrols and 837 night patrols across Iraq in an effort to stem the violence.
Meanwhile, U.S. officials said the military was still holding Syrian border guards wounded during an American attack on a convoy believed to include leaders from Saddam's ousted regime heading toward the Syrian border.
Syria kept a strict silence about the attack, which took place a week ago but only became known in recent days. Syrian officials refused comment, and state-run television, newspapers and radio made no mention of the clash.
U.S. special operations forces, backed by warplanes, attacked the convoy last Wednesday, acting on information from a captured top aide of Saddam. The heavy fire left wrecked buildings and cars and casualties on both sides of the Syrian-Iraqi border.
An undisclosed number of people were killed and wounded in the incident, and American troops captured about 20 people, most of whom since have been released, a senior U.S. defense official said Monday.
At least five Syrian border guards were wounded, and three of them were treated by American forces. None of the Syrians in U.S. hands had been returned by today.