The soldier, whose name was not released, died early Thursday at Britain's Contingency Operating Base outside Basra, where most of the country's troops are stationed.

"It is with deep regret that the MoD must confirm that a soldier serving with 1st Battalion The Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment died this morning in a shooting incident," a ministry statement said.

"The circumstances surrounding the incident are still being investigated."

A ministry spokesman said that no other people were involved in the incident, and added that the soldier's next of kin had been informed.

The soldier's death comes in the wake of two British soldiers dying in Basra in December of gunshot wounds in which no enemy soldiers were involved.

Britain has around 4,100 troops still based in Iraq, most of whom are in the south of the country, and under a deal signed between Baghdad and London, they will complete their mission by June, before a withdrawal from the country in late July.

At the beginning of the year, British forces handed over control of Basra airport, the country's main military base in southern Iraq, to Iraqi officials, after having withdrawn from the city in September 2007.

A small contingent of military advisers, however, are likely to stay on.

British troop numbers in the Iraq campaign were the second largest contingent, peaking at 46,000 in March and April 2003 during the US-led invasion.

Overall, 179 British soldiers have died since the March 2003 invasion, 136 of whom were fatalities of hostile action.

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