An SAS soldier who died in a raid in Iraq may have been shot by one of his own comrades, a coroner said. Sergeant Jonathan Hollingsworth, 35, died on November 24, 2006, after members of the elite regiment stormed a flat in Basra.

An SAS soldier who died in a raid in Iraq may have been shot by one of his own comrades, a coroner said.

Sergeant Jonathan Hollingsworth, 35, died on November 24, 2006, after members of the elite regiment stormed a flat in Basra.

The coroner for Hereford, David Halpern, said: "We know that Sergeant Hollingsworth was killed by way of a gunshot.

"What we don't know is who discharged that bullet and where it came from."

He said: "Was it, sadly, own fire or was it insurgent fire?

"With those doubts in my mind, it does cause me some difficulties in looking at verdicts."

He said of the British soldiers who were with Sergeant Hollingsworth in the flat: "It is difficult to comprehend that one of them would or could have accidentally discharged his weapon, but it is not beyond the realms of a possibility. We will say no further than that."

He recorded a narrative verdict, telling the soldier's widow Kate, who was at the inquest: "I am very sorry that I have not been able to better answer some of the questions you must have."

In a statement read to the inquest after the verdict, Kate Hollingsworth said she was "disappointed" but understood the coroner's decision.

Her representative Andrew Davidson said: "She and her family only wanted to establish the truth about what happened to Jon, nothing more than that, and bear no malice to any individual.

"She is comforted to know that Jon was amongst friends when he died and they did their best for him.

"She recognises that they too have suffered loss."

If there were "any lessons to be learned", he said, the family hoped that they could be employed for the benefit of others.

He added that Mrs Hollingsworth was "grateful for the support from the army and her friends at this distressing time".

Cathryn McGahey, representing the Ministry of Defence, told the inquest: "On behalf of the MoD and, in particular, all of Sergeant Hollingsworth's colleagues, I'd like to express our deepest sympathies to Mrs Hollingsworth and all his family.

"He was a highly professional soldier who died doing the job he loved and his loss was felt very deeply by the troops with whom he served."

The operation took place in a "dark and very dusty" building in the Shia Flats area, which was generally "no-go" for British troops, the inquest heard.

On the night in question, Sgt Hollingsworth and another soldier, known only as soldier B, entered the target flat.

The troops with them managed to detain the men found in the target building, except for two who escaped, the inquest heard.

Captain Morag Sheather said that forensic tests revealed that Sgt Hollingsworth had been shot by a 5.56mm bullet. The bullet entered his chest through his side, missing the main part of his body armour.

Soldier B told the coroner: "The only thing that I can think... we know these guys had 5.56 rifles, and obviously two males escaped from the target (flat)."

The soldiers in the flat denied firing a shot, saying they checked their ammunition and found none missing.