A British soldier was killed and three others injured on Friday as the Black Watch regiment travelled from southern Iraq to its more dangerous new base near Baghdad, a military spokesman confirmed.

The spokesman for the British Ministry of Defense told Xinhua the incident occurred "as a result of vehicle accident," when the Warrior vehicle they were travelling was overturned in Iraq's Babil province, adding "no hostile actions" were involved.

It was the first fatality from the contingent of around 850 Black Watch soldiers, who are being redeployed from their previous base in the relatively peaceful southern part of Iraq, at a request from the United States to free-up troops to fight in other hotspots including Fallujia.

The first troops from the Black Watch have arrived at a new base, called Camp Dogwood, about 15 miles (about 25 kilometers) south of Baghdad, Sky News television reported. The rest would arrive over the weekend, military sources said.

Britain has some 9,000 troops in Iraq mostly based around the southern port city of Basra. A total of 68 British soldiers have been killed in Iraq.

Source: Xinhua