12 April 2012
British soldiers have killed a senior al Qaida figure during a major raid in Iraq, the Ministry of Defence said.
Some 250 troops stormed the house where Omar Farouq was staying in Basra on Sunday night.
Farouq - who has been linked to a series of kidnappings and murders and was believed to be a top lieutenant of Osama bin Laden - was shot when he resisted arrest, according to the MoD.
An MoD spokesman said: "A deliberate operation was carried out against a known terrorist.
"When he opened fire on the troops he was killed in a return of fire."
The soldiers involved were two companies from 1 Battalion the Princess of Wales's regiment, according to the spokesman.
