About 200 soldiers from Britain's Black Watch regiment have arrived back in the UK for a Christmas break after their tour of duty in Iraq. The troops landed at the RAF Lyneham airbase in Chippenham, southern England early on Saturday and will travel to Battlesbury Barracks in Warminster, southern England, where they will attend a service of thanksgiving, a spokeswoman for the Ministry of Defence said.
Their official six-week period of leave will begin on Wednesday. The remainder of the battalion is due to arrive back in the UK by Monday, the spokeswoman added.
The regiment returned to its base in Basra in southern Iraq earlier this month after a month-long mission standing in for US troops in a more violent part of the country.
Around 850 troops were sent to a base south of Baghdad to replace US soldiers taking part in the storming of the rebel-held city of Falluja.
The regiment came under almost daily bombardment during the mission, suffering five deaths.
The soldiers' move north to the area dubbed the "Triangle of Death" from the relatively quiet south was controversial in Britain where anti-war sentiment remains strong.
Critics said it was politically motivated to show support for US President George W. Bush just before the US election.
Comments
Comments are closed.