BASRA, March 29: Two British soldiers were injured on Monday in a clash with militiamen as they tried to evict them from a building in the southern Iraqi port city of Basra, a British army spokesman said.

A spokesman for the Thaarallah (God's Wrath) militia said five of his comrades were also hurt in the fighting. "Two British soldiers suffered minor injuries," in the confrontations that erupted when the troops tried to evict the militiamen squatting in an office belonging to a local women's organisation, the British spokesman said.

A senior coalition official in Baghdad said the incident lasted 25 minutes. "There was a small public order incident in Basra as a result of trying to evict illegal tenants from local government offices. This incident involved violence against coalition forces," the official said.

"Two (British) soldiers received minor injuries, there was some damage to a vehicle and one soldier had his pistol stolen," the official said. "This incident involves the illegal action of a small minority and will be investigated by the Iraqi police," he added.

Ten days ago the governorate of Basra sent the militiamen an injunction order to vacate the premises but the group, which set up a press office in the building, refused to budge.

"British soldiers came to drive us out from the building with truncheons. During the clashes, five of our members were wounded," a spokesman for Thaarallah said. Thaarallah is one of a plethora of militias based in Basra, which is under British control. -AFP