The relatives of British soldiers killed and wounded in Iraq can claim damages for negligence against the defence ministry, the Court of Appeal in London ruled Friday.

Lawyers and lawmakers alike said the decision was far-reaching.

Some 179 British service personnel were killed in Iraq -- 136 as a result of hostile action -- between the start of the campaign in March 2003 and the end of combat operations in April 2009.

The Ministry of Defence had appealed against a June 2011 High Court ruling. The Court of Appeal examined the case and on Friday upheld that three of the claimants could indeed sue for negligence.

It also overturned the ruling in one case, allowing another claimant to sue for negligence as well.

The cases refer to deaths and injuries in the Challenger 2 tanks and Snatch Land Rover vehicles procured by the MoD.

"The duty of care owed by the MoD, as employer, to the members of the armed forces, as employees, does exist and has been recognised, without demur, by the courts," said judge David Neuberger, according to the BBC.

"It includes a duty to provide safe systems of work and safe equipment."

An MoD spokesman said later: "We are considering the judgment by the Court of Appeal and as this is likely to be subject to further legal action it would be inappropriate for us to comment further."

Lawmaker James Arbuthnot, who chairs the MPs' committee which scrutinises defence matters, told BBC radio: "The implications of this ruling are very far-reaching indeed.

"This has been described as the triumph of lawfare over warfare.

"It's not just that the MoD is now going to owe a duty of care in relation to all the equipment procurement decisions it makes, but also in relation to everything that an officer or a soldier does actually in the course of battle.

"I think the MoD had rather relied until now on the idea that if you decide to be a soldier, then you take with that decision the risks that naturally come with it -- you put yourself in harm's way with your eyes open.

"That argument is really going to be much reduced in strength now.

"It's going to have a very big effect on the MoD."