Adam Ingram said that an Iraqi interpreter was also killed and that eight troops suffered injuries in the attack which happened Thursday afternoon.

A total of 73 British troops have died in Iraq since US-led forces invaded the country in March last year, 34 of them in combat.

Ingram had earlier told parliament in London that soldiers from the Black Watch regiment "suffered a number of casualties, including three fatalities".

As well as being a significant blow to Britain's armed forces, the deaths are bound to be of serious concern to Prime Minister Tony Blair, who has faced fierce criticism over the decision to redeploy the troops.

The 850-strong battle group, previously based in the relatively peaceful southern city of Basra, began moving to a rebel-plagued region just southwest of Baghdad last week, starting full operations only two days ago.

Since arriving at Camp Dogwood, their huge and run-down base to the west of the insurgent-hit town of Mahmudiyah, the Black Watch has come under attack every day, largely rockets fired at the base.

The Black Watch are relieving US troops set to fight insurgents in the violence-plagued western city of Fallujah, with their mission due to last around 30 days.

The move has proved highly controversial in Britain, with a number of lawmakers from Blair's ruling Labour Party expressing disquiet at the prospect of British troops being dragged into difficult battles.

Blair has been the strongest ally of US President George W. Bush over Iraq, a policy which has attracted grave disquiet within his own party as well as plummeting opinion poll ratings.

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