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A British soldier killed in Iraq was an SAS trooper fighting in Baghdad, Sky sources understand. The Ministry of Defence have confirmed a soldier died as a result of wounds sustained during an Iraq firefight, but have not confirmed the exact location.

They all made a pact before they went to war. Whatever happened to them in Afghanistan no one - dead or alive - would be left behind. One night in Helmand Province, that pledge was put to the test. In a terrifying split second, the close-knit group from one of the Army's most battle-scarred units came under fire from a hail of Taliban bullets and rocket-powered grenades. Four men were hit and several others temporarily blinded by phosphorus. Their screams of pain cut through the darkness as the ambushed platoon was pinned down by gunfire from two sides. But the...

The heroism of a Royal Air Force Regiment patrol that stubbornly refused to submit during an ambush by Iraqi insurgents near Basra has been recognised with a number of personnel honoured in the Operational Honours and Awards List published today, Friday 7 March 2008.... When 1 Squadron RAF Regiment came under a hail of gunfire that lasted 90 minutes, despite withering firepower from more than a dozen rooftop locations, the Regiment gunners fought their way out carrying a shot comrade and another who had been mortally wounded. Leading Aircraftman Martin Beard died during the battle in August 2007 as he...

A SPECIAL forces hero gave his life in a daring bid to save 15 comrades — after they were cornered by SEVENTY Taliban gunmen next to a bridge.... The courage of the SBS commando — during a secret Afghan operation in which a captain was also killed — was revealed for the first time yesterday at an inquest into their deaths a year and a half ago.

A TALIBAN chief behind suicide attacks on British troops has been shot dead in a daring operation by elite forces in Afghanistan. The Special Boat Service ambushed Mullah Abdul Matin as he crossed a desert on a motorbike. They were dropped into his path by helicopter after a tip-off on his whereabouts. Matin spotted them and opened fire with an AK47 rifle but he was cut down in a hail of bullets. Two henchmen with him – one his key lieutenant Mullah Karim Agha – were also killed in the firefight. Matin, who was in his 40s, was killed on...

The Iraqi Army is leading its first joint foot patrols through areas of Baghdad under the mentoring eye of the US/UK Military Transition Team (MiTT). In the divided Sunni/Shia district of West Rashid 'Mahala', Iraqi, American and British troops have been cooperating to improve the security and stability. The 11-man US-led MiTT team also has four members of 1st Battalion the Royal Regiment of Scotland posted to it from Basrah.... Captain Kev Gartside of the 1st Battalion the Royal Regiment of Scotland explained why the British troops are serving in Baghdad: "The Iraqi Battalion here is from the 10th Division,...

Six months of heavy fighting and casualties in Iraq have not dampened the spirits of the returning Riflemen, discovers Con Coughlin They fired their guns until they could fire them no more, they lived for six months under almost continuous enemy fire and suffered the horror of seeing colleagues killed and maimed. But talk to any of the young men and women who have just returned from active service in Iraq, and all they want to do is get straight back into the thick of the action. "The idea of sitting around in barracks for the next two years will...

The intensity of combat in Afghanistan has been laid bare as one Army regiment revealed that it had fired one million rounds, killed 1,028 Taliban and lost nine men in a six-month tour of duty. At times, fighting saw 1Bn of the Royal Anglians having to "winkle out the Taliban at the point of a bayonet", said Lt Col Stuart Carver, the commanding officer, at the battalion's medal ceremony. At times the fighting was on a par with that experienced in the Second World War and the casualty rate was similar, with nine men killed and a further 135 wounded....

On a spring day in Basra in 2004, nine men from the Royal Horse Artillery found themselves surrounded by 200 Iraqis, all shooting to kill. The man who saved them is Sgt Terry Bryan, a modest 37-year-old father of three, who joined the Army at 16. Here, in our first extract from a new book in which medal-winning soldiers tell their stories, he describes how he won the Conspicuous Gallantry Cross for his astonishing bravery....

Gordon Brown threatened Iran with an international ban on oil and gas investment last night as he mapped out the "hard-headed internationalism" that will guide his foreign policy. Downing Street made clear military action remained an option for dealing with the Islamic state if it presses ahead with its efforts to acquire nuclear weapons. The Prime Minister's first major statement on international affairs was designed to counter claims that he is less interested in the intricacies of diplomatic relationships than Tony Blair. He used the annual Mansion House address to defend himself against charges that he has deliberately cooled relations...

HEROIC British soldiers have relived their epic battle to rescue a fallen comrade under a hail of Taliban bullets and grenades in Afghanistan. Two soldiers died and seven others were wounded in the fierce eight-hour night action... Sergeant Craig Brelsford, 25, was killed as he bravely led a platoon through heavy fire to recover the body of Private Johan Botha. Botha, also 25, had been fatally wounded. And true to the code of soldiers, no one was to be left behind – dead or alive.... The platoon sergeant, Mick Lockett, was determined to help the injured, who were lying on...

NEARLY 1,000 extra troops are on standby to be sent to Iraq before Christmas to cover the handover of Basra to the Iraqis. The troops represent an overall increase in the size of the force in Iraq despite the pledge by Gordon Brown this month, when “election fever” was at its height, that 1,000 troops would be home by Christmas.... The decision to give control to “provincial Iraqi control” is expected to lead to an eventual reduction in the number of British troops in Iraq to about 2,500, half the current figure, early next year. Those 2,500 troops will be...

For six months in the searing killing fields of Afghanistan, Lance Corporal Jeff Day must have dreamt of this moment. A huge hug and a kiss from his wife as he arrived home safe and well was capped, literally, by his three-year-old son Ronnie perched on his shoulders proudly wearing his father's beret. Stacey Day, 28, and their four children were among family and friends meeting more than 100 soldiers of 2nd Battalion The Mercian Regiment (Worcesters and Foresters) at a homecoming parade at Cavalry Barracks, Hounslow, west London, yesterday.... [A Families']officer's death was one of nine suffered by the...

After a brutal but successful six month deployment in Helmand which left nine dead and 57 wounded, soldiers from the 1st Battalion The Royal Anglian Regiment, (the Vikings), were welcomed home last night.... The Vikings are widely praised for taking the fight to the Taliban, leading several high profile operations and pushing the Taliban from their traditional heartlands, allowing much needed reconstruction and development to take place. During their six months in Helmand they took part in 4 Battlegroup operations within a larger Task Force as well as 100 company level operations. Involved in 350 engagements with the enemy, it...

BRITAIN is to deploy its biggest contingent of paratroopers and special forces since the second world war in a bid to crush the Taliban in Afghanistan. Ministers are to send 3,000 paratroopers, including the entire Parachute Regiment, to southern Afghanistan in the spring, as well as trebling the number of special forces in the country. It will be the first time in the regiment’s history that all four para battalions, including its reservists, have fought together on the same battlefield. The number of UK special forces personnel will rise to more than 800 and will include the bulk of the...

The US commander in Iraq has praised "the great contribution" made by British troops, ahead of talks in London with PM Gordon Brown. Gen David Petraeus said the British military had "done magnificent work" in the face of "tough enemies" and countless other challenges. And he dismissed talk of a split between the US and Britain over the pace of withdrawal of UK troops. US ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker will also join the talks in Downing Street. Last week Gen Petraeus said that the "surge", an extra 30,000 US troops deployed in February, was working. At the same time...

"President Bush has set out his response to the extensive analysis presented earlier this week by General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker," said Mr Brown. "I agree that we must meet our obligations to the Iraqi people, to our allies and to the international community, and I pay tribute to our armed forces, who are playing their part with courage and professionalism. "In southern Iraq, the UK has trained over 13,000 Iraqi soldiers, who are now increasingly taking on responsibility for security in the region. As General Petraeus explained, this is why we were able to hand over control of Basra...

It is with deep regret that the Ministry of Defence must confirm the deaths of two soldiers from 2nd Battalion, The Mercian Regiment (Worcesters and Foresters) in Afghanistan earlier today, Saturday 8 September 2007. A number of other soldiers were also injured in the incident, two are in a serious condition. The soldiers were taking part in a pre-planned operation to disrupt Taliban activity, south of Garmsir, southern Helmand Province, when their patrol was attacked by enemy fighters shortly after 0045 hours local time. Sadly the two soldiers were killed during the subsequent heavy firefight to repel the enemy and...

The Basra battlegroup that has fought through some of the most intense urban battles since the Second World War has been nominated for an "unusually high" number of bravery awards, The Daily Telegraph has learned.... The fighting and casualty levels have matched those of frontline units in Afghanistan over the last 14 weeks with the 4Bn The Rifles battlegroup suffering 11 dead and 62 wounded in action. But the battles have also witnessed some astonishing acts of heroism by young soldiers, such as the rifleman who physically covered the body of his wounded comrade as he lay in the street...

A ROOKIE Army officer told of the nightmare moment he and two other soldiers were shot trying to save a fourth badly wounded comrade. Second Lieutenant Charlie Kilner and the other heroes were picked off by a sniper as they bravely dashed from cover into a hail of bullets.... With extraordinary courage, the rest of the unit from the 4th Battalion, The Rifles, battled to rescue them AND completed their mission — a raid on a rebel arms dump. They stormed the stronghold in Basra, southern Iraq, and found a massive stockpile of roadside bombs and two surface-to-air missiles that...