Irak

[Rob]

Troops are doing an 'extraordinary and heroic' job
(Filed: 05/11/2004)

Tony Blair has paid tribute to the bravery of the soldiers of the Black Watch following the deaths of three men in a suicide attack in Iraq yesterday.

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Mr Blair said he wanted to "express my pride and gratitude to the Black Watch for the extraordinary and heroic job they are doing there".

Standing alongside Iraq's interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi, Mr Blair said that securing peace in Iraq was "absolutely crucial", not only for the stability of the Middle East but also for the security of Britain.

The Black Watch was playing a vital role in enabling elections to take place in the country next January.

The Ministry of Defence has named the three soldiers who died in the attack. They are Sgt Stuart Gray, Pte Paul Lowe, 19, and Pte Scott McArdle.

The bodies of the soldiers are expected to be flown home today.

They were part of a patrol which had gone into an area 30 miles south west of Baghdad in an attempt to track down insurgents who have been firing rocket attacks in to their Army base at Dogwood on a daily basis since moving up from Basra last week.

The three victims had been on a vehicle checkpoint when a suicide bomber drove up in a truck and set off his explosives. [...............]

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