LONDON - Two of four British service personnel killed with their interpreter in southern Iraq Thursday were women, the defence ministry said.
The pair were from the Queen Alexandra's Royal Army Nursing Corps and the Intelligence Corps. Their deaths bring to four the number of British female personnel killed since the start of the US-led invasion in March 2003.
Overall, 140 British servicemen and women have died since hostilities began.
"It is with deep regret that we can confirm that four British servicemen and women and a local civilian interpreter were killed in a roadside bomb attack against a Warrior patrol west of Basra this morning," a ministry statement said.
"The soldiers were from the Intelligence Corps, the Queen Alexandras Royal Army Nursing Corps, the Royal Army Medical Corps and 2nd Battalion The Duke of Lancasters Regiment.
"Next of kin have been informed and have requested a 24-hour period before further details are released."
The last British woman to die in Iraq was Staff Sergeant Sharron Elliott, 34, from the Intelligence Corps, who was killed with three on November 12 last year in an attack on a routine patrol on the Shatt al-Arab waterway in Basra.
The first British woman to die was Flight Lieutenant Sarah-Jayne Mulvihill, 32, whose helicopter was shot down over Basra on May 6, 2006. Four others were killed.
Prime Minister Tony Blair said earlier Thursday the latest deaths were killed "as a result of a terrorist act".
04/05/2007 18:41 GMT