Iraqi soldiers reach pay deal with British troops after standoff

The soldiers had placed barbed wire and large rocks in front of the main entrance to the British headquarters in Saddam Hussein's old Al-Barazhiya palace, to blockade the compound, an AFP correspondent saw.

"One of the representatives was brought into the palace and the issue was resolved," Lieutenant Commander Clive Woodman told AFP, adding that there had been "one or two instances of stone throwing and a small fire lit."

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"There were around 200 people outside the palace this morning, the same people as were down there yesterday, ex-Iraqi soldiers," he said, adding that there had been no injuries on either side and that the crowd had dispersed.

"The payment will take place Tuesday," he added.

The Iraqis had hurled stones, preventing two British ambulances from driving out of the former palace and prompting an armoured vehicle to take up position at the entrance, the correspondent said.

After threats of armed insurrection in Baghdad, the US-led coalition said last week that it would begin regular payments to members of the disbanded army in mid-July, backtracking on plans to give former soldiers a one-off payment.