LONDON, Sept. 19 (Xinhuanet) -- Two British soldiers were freed from a jail in the Iraqi city of Basra after British tanks demolished a prison wall, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) reported on Monday.

A British soldier jumps from a burning tank which was set ablaze after a shooting incident in the southern Iraqi city of Basra Sept. 19. (Xinhua/Reuters)

    The British Ministry of Defense denied its tanks deliberately smashed down the prison wall, saying the two soldiers was secured through negotiations, the report said.

    But the ministry acknowledged that the wall was demolished as British forces tried to "collect" the servicemen Iraqi police accused of firing on them.

    According to BBC, the Basra governor called the move a "barbaric act of aggression," and the Iraqi Interior Ministry said six tanks were used to crash the wall in a daring rescue operation.

    Witnesses said around 150 prisoners escaped during the operation but Iraqi officials denied later that any prisoners had escaped.

    The two British soldiers, who were reported to be undercover, were arrested by Iraqi authorities for firing at Iraqi policemen and held at a Basra police station.

    After the arrests, two British tanks sent to the police station were set alight in clashes between British forces and protesters. Two Iraqi civilians were reportedly killed and three British soldiers injured. Enditem

An injured Iraqi man is helped following an incident between Iraqis and British soldiers in Basra Sept. 19. (Xinhua/Reuters)

Iraqi youths throw stones at British soldiers following an incident between Iraqis and British soldiers Sept. 19. (Xinhua/Reuters)