Myers told BBC1 television: "It's the absolute saddest tragedy that any of us can experience", adding that he would make it his "quest" to prevent further such deaths.

"There is simply no excuse for that. We clearly have technical means to prevent that, we have techniques, procedures and tactics to help prevent that."

Two British Royal Air Force pilots were killed last Sunday when their GR4 Tornado was engaged near the Kuwaiti border by a US Patriot missile battery, while on Friday a British soldier died when, according to media reports, a US A-10 tankbuster aircraft fired on two armoured vehicles.

In a third incident, two British soldiers were killed when their Challenger 2 tank was mistakenly fired upon by British comrades in another tank.

"I regret the lives of the crew of the Tornado that was engaged by the Patriot system, and I think we've had another friendly fire incident since then," said Myers.

"I suppose in the middle of war, which is by nature a very chaotic event, at certain times on the battlefield those things happen.

"But I don't ever accept that they're inevitable, and I don't think we should ever stop trying to find means to prevent that from happening."

A total of 23 British soldiers have been killed since the start of the US-led war on March 20 -- 14 in helicopter accidents, four in combat, and five as a result of "friendly fire," according to official counts of confirmed and suspected dead.

WAR.WIRE