Britain's Defense Secretary Geoff Hoon said Wednesday that the security situation in Iraq remains a concern, but he insisted most parts of the country and the capital Baghdad were "very calm."

The Defense Ministry announced Tuesday that a British marine was killed by hostile fire in Iraq last week, bringing the British death toll during the war and its aftermath to 52. The death of Cpl. Ian Plank was the first fatality among Britain's 10,500 service personnel in the country since Sept. 23. The ministry said Plank died during a coalition operation, but gave no further details.

"In most parts of Iraq and in most parts of Baghdad the security situation is very calm," Hoon told British Broadcasting Corp. radio. But he said the "security situation ... in and around Baghdad continues to be a cause for concern."

"We have to continue to bear down on those who are continuing to attack coalition forces," he added.

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