Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

British officials says six British soldiers have been killed and eight others wounded in two separate incidents in southern Iraq.

The officials say both incidents occurred Tuesday near the city of al-Amarah, north of Basra.

Officials have yet to give any details of the incident in which the soldiers were killed. The British defense ministry confirms that in the other incident, a British helicopter crew was fired upon as it tried to rescue a paratrooper who had been shot and wounded.

Britain's defense ministry says it is investigating whether the two incidents are related. The incidents are the first major attacks on British troops in Iraq since U.S.-led forces ousted the Saddam regime in April.

American soldiers continue to face almost daily attacks in spite of operations designed to capture and kill what U.S. officials say are fighters loyal to Saddam Hussein.

At least three Iraqis are dead and at least one U.S. soldier wounded following a clash Tuesday in Ramadi, a city west of Baghdad. The American military says a small arms firefight broke out at a checkpoint in the city.

A military statement says three Iraqis were killed, but news reports from the city put the death toll as high as five.

In the town of Fallujah Tuesday, unidentified attackers fired rocket-propelled grenades at U.S. troops guarding a power station. One Iraqi was killed when the soldiers returned fire.

Meanwhile, U.S. defense officials say investigators have not yet determined the identities of those killed when American special forces in Iraq attacked a convoy of suspected Saddam regime figures near the Syrian border.

The officials say that, if necessary, DNA testing will be done to identify the victims of last week's attack. But they add there was no indication the former Iraqi dictator or his two fugitive sons were killed.

Some information for this report provided by Reuters and AP.