Iraq: Britain hands over command of Basra to US army after 'outstanding' contribution

The head of Britain's Armed Forces has formally handed control of coalition forces in Basra to the US.

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2.8% pay rise for Armed Forces (Some good new then Ed)

In line with the Armed Forces' Pay Review Body (AFPRB) recommendations, the basic military salary for officers and all other ranks will increase by 2.8 per cent, Defence Secretary John Hutton announced today, Wednesday 31 March 2009.

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Defence chiefs battle Treasury over Afghanistan troop levels

Defence chiefs face a major battle with the Treasury over plans to boost British troop levels in Afghanistan.

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Veteran ID cards

The Independent reports that 'four million former Servicemen and women are to be given veterans' cards to ensure they get priority treatment for NHS healthcare and housing and discounts for services such as transport'. The MOD is actively investigating the options for the introduction of an ID Card for Veterans that could guarantee identity thereby helping to secure access to services and discounts.

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Teen army cadets in uniform targeted by vicious thugs

By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 4:22 PM on 27th March 2009

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Uniformed army cadets have been targeted and assaulted by thugs who accused the teenagers of being murderers.

A 15-year-old girl cadet was viciously attacked as a woman repeatedly tried to headbutt her. 

The adult offenders threatened and abused the young group, picking on them because they were in uniform, regulation boots and hat on their way to training in West Bromwich, in the West Midlands.

Target: Returning soldiers from Iraq were abused by Muslim extremists during a homecoming parade in Luton earlier this month

Police are now hunting a woman who attacked the 15-year-old girl, shouted abuse, attempted to wrench the uniform off the cadet and then accused her of killing the woman's uncle.

A man shouted abuse at the cadets and threatened to 'get' them for wearing their army combats.

The girl, who is too frightened to be named, had been walking to the West Bromwich Army Cadets training session at the Territorial Army building in Carters Green on Monday evening with six friends.

Her mother said: 'A woman in her 30s grabbed her arm, tried to headbutt her twice and said she had killed her uncle. 

Uniforms: Airmen and women at one of Britain's most famous RAF bases were advised not to wear uniforms in public in March 2008

'She tried to rip the uniform off her. I don't understand why these people are doing this.

'All she wants to do is something positive in her spare time.'

Army chiefs today described the incident as "unfortunate" but unusual and West Midlands police confirmed they were treating the incident as assault. Both the woman and the man were white.

The attack comes just weeks after soldiers returning from Iraq faced abuse as they paraded through Luton.

Muslim extremists hurled abuse and called the 200 returning soldiers from 2nd Battalion The Royal Anglian Regiment 'terrorists' and 'butchers of Basra'.

It also echoes incidents in Peterborough. Last March officers at RAF Wittering told airmen not to leave the base in uniform after servicemen were taunted by people opposed to UK involvement in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Public encouraged to wear a yellow ribbon for the Forces

A Defence Policy and Business news article

27 Mar 09

The last week in March sees not only the end of the financial year but also 'Yellow Ribbon for the Forces Week' when members of the public are encouraged to show their support for Britain's Service personnel.

Founder of the Yellow Ribbon Foundation Victoria Evans (centre) with two volunteers in Portsmouth for Yellow Ribbon Week 2008
[Picture: The Yellow Ribbon Foundation]

From 24 to 31 March 2009, 'Yellow Ribbon for the Forces Week' encourages non-political support for, and recognition of, the British Armed Forces, wherever they are serving, be it at home or overseas, by prominently displaying a yellow ribbon.

The Yellow Ribbon Foundation is a MOD-endorsed, independent community support organisation for anyone with a British Armed Forces connection and aims to boost the morale of both the serving personnel and their families.

Support for the week is welcomed in any form such as getting friends and neighbours to turn a street yellow with ribbons on their front doors or even having a 'Dress Yellow Day' at work or school.

Founder of the Yellow Ribbon Foundation Victoria Evans said:

"There is a huge amount of support out there for our serving personnel and their families, which is proven every year when people from all walks of life, all colours and creeds, come together in support of 'Yellow Ribbon for the Forces Week'.

"'Yellow Ribbon for the Forces Week' gives everyone the chance to show their non-political support for our Armed Forces."

The awareness campaign has received annual support from the likes of TV presenter Paul O'Grady, Soccer AM, Chelsea players John Terry and Joe Cole, and sports teams such as London Irish and the Saracens, as well as countless other public and private figures both here in the UK and overseas.

The week began originally as a means of celebrating the organisation's anniversary and as a final boost to fundraising before the end of the financial year. The first fully formed week of events was put together by just two people and included 1,500 yellow balloons being launched by the Right Honourable David Cameron MP at RAF Brize Norton.

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Plymouth snubbed as homecoming venue 'to save cash'

Tuesday, March 24, 2009, 10:15

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MILITARY chiefs have refuted claims they chose Exeter as the site of a massive homecoming parade to save money.

In the latest twist to an ongoing saga, military sources in Plymouth told The Herald the Ministry of Defence (MoD) wanted to coincide the event with a visit by the Archbishop of Canterbury to save on providing security and facilities.

But the sources claim the plan backfired when the Archbishop's office moved the dates to the following weekend.

As a result the MoD has been left to foot the complete bill for staging 3 Commando Brigade's huge official parade and cathedral service on Friday July 3.

Around 1,700 Royal Marines, Army and Royal Navy personnel will be taking part, which is the brigade's main event to welcome home Plymouth's war heroes.

City leaders, veterans and serving servicemen's families have already criticised Stonehouse-based 3 Commando Brigade and the MoD for staging the event in Exeter.

Plymouth City Council leader, Councillor Vivien Pengelly, previously described the move as a "slap in the face" for the city.

The military source told The Herald: "The Ministry of Defence has been left with egg on its face really.

"It was organised by two servicemen here in Plymouth a while ago. They did not consider how it would offend people.

"It was part of a cost cutting exercise because they would have used the facilities which would have coincided with the Archbishop's visit.

"The Archbishop was coming down on that date. It was all booked and planned and then the Archbishop dropped out.

"They say it is being held in Exeter because it is 'strategically central' but that's a load of rubbish."

The source said a lot of serving personnel were "gutted" the event is being held in Exeter.

"They want to march through their home town," the source said.

Cllr Pengelly again voiced her frustration.

"The whole thing is quite ridiculous," Cllr Pengelly said.

"It is a shame the MoD got it so wrong and it is left with a red face."

But an MoD spokesperson refuted the claims, saying: "The reason why we are holding the event in Exeter is because of the size of the cathedral.

"It will enable us to fit more people inside for a memorial service.

"Coinciding with the Archbishop of Canterbury's visit was something that was not drafted out at all. It is simply not the case."

A spokesman for the Archbishop of Canterbury said the Archbishop is due to visit Exeter over the weekend of June 27/28 to help celebrate the 1,100 anniversary of the diocese of Exeter.

"I have no knowledge of the Archbishop visiting on the same day as the homecoming parade," the spokesman added.

The Exeter event will see around 500 service personnel march through the city before attending a service at the cathedral.

It will be attended by military top brass, families and invited guests.

Smaller unit-size parades will be held in Plymouth over the coming months.

Troops are coming home, but to a wounded, battle weary Britain

Hannah Simpson, the six-year-old sister of Private Luke Daniel Simpson, follows the procession away from his funeral service in at Howden Minster, East Yorkshire

Ben Macintyre

After six years of fighting in Iraq, the last soldiers are coming home: but “home” is a very different place. Britain has changed, through the experience of that war, in ways both subtle and profound, positive and painful, transitory and permanent. We are not the same people that we were six years ago: the war has changed us too.

Britain today is more sceptical of politicians, divided and paranoid than it was in 2003. We are subject to closer surveillance, more cautious, and perhaps more suspicious. Security looms, for many, as a greater concern than defence of civil liberties. We are, as a direct consequence of the “War on Terror” and war in Iraq, less free, and less carefree.

The Iraq war, its potential physical and psychological trauma as well as its political ramifications, echoes into every corner of our culture, from books, cinema and plays to poetry and art. War has even penetrated the language.

Britain kept the home fires burning, but they do not burn as brightly as they once did. Returning soldiers face a very different reception from the one that welcomed veterans of the Gulf War and the Falklands conflict, let alone the homecoming victors of the Second World War. And the soldiers themselves have been changed by war - often war of the most brutal sort. The effect on society of reabsorbing thousands of war veterans is hard to predict, but certain to be profound and long-lasting.

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More than 100,000 British men and women have been deployed to the battlefields of Iraq in the past six years. For some, the experience will have been enriching and life-enhancing. But others will return hollowed out in mind and crippled in body. The social after-effects will still be felt in Britain decades from now.

How these former soldiers are treated will speak volumes about the state of what is often referred to as the “military covenant”, the unofficial but enduring notion that British society has a special bond with, and obligation towards, its soldiers.

The war has permeated our culture, from high to low. Theatre, in particular, has embraced the politics and reality of war with fascination and fury, from Black Watch, Gregory Burke's play about Scottish soldiers serving in Iraq, which won four Olivier Awards this month, to David Hare's Stuff Happens, reconstructing the events that preceded the war.

Writers have grappled with the issues of war in fact and fiction: Ian McEwan's Saturday ruminated on the pending war, and Rajiv Chandrasekaran's Imperial Life in the Emerald City vividly portrayed life in the Baghdad green zone.

The sensitive, angry poetry of the First World War has found a latter-day counterpart in the “milblog”, an entirely new literary genre: blogs written by soldiers in real time, an unfiltered and violent sort of poetry from the front line. The war has also produced more traditional forms of poetry, including Simon Armitage's deeply moving poems of soldiers returning to a changed society. Pop music has joined the chorus. In Middle Eastern Holiday Hard-Fi lamented the fate of the squaddie, dispatched to the alien Iraqi desert: “I've got to go, but what a prize to give/ Package deal to the sun, everything is inclusive/ where bullet holes scar the minarets/ smoke on the horizon a beautiful sunset.”

Colonel Tim Collins's exhortation to the troops of The Royal Irish Regiment - “We go to liberate, not to conquer ...” - is now more widely known and quoted than any battlefield oration since Churchill's promise to “fight them on the beaches”. At the same time, the terminology of war has permanently entered the language: “shock and awe”, “collateral damage”, “extraordinary rendition”.

British politics has been transformed by the Iraq war. The so-called dodgy dossier, the death of David Kelly, the debate over Guantánamo Bay and the allegations of torture have changed the political landscape. The perception, whether justified or not, that the British Government went to war under false pretences has seeped into public consciousness, and poisoned politics. Tony Blair's reputation will be judged on the Iraq war. The next election will be fought, in large part, on the issue of political trust, with the war as a backdrop.

More than half of British voters supported the war in 2003, earnestly believing that Saddam Hussein possessed weapons of mass destruction. When that turned out to be untrue, the nature of British politics was changed for ever, increasing political mistrust in Britain to a level that may be higher than it has ever been. It is hard to imagine what level of justification will be necessary, in the future, to persuade the British people to back a “just war”.

On a broader plane, the war helped to foment a culture of anti-Americanism that is only now beginning to abate. Among the British intelligentsia, it became fashionable to condemn all things American, to see the US as a nation of warmongering polluters and religious fanatics.

The extreme language of anti-Americanism on the intellectual Left reached a peak with the late Harold Pinter's Nobel prize acceptance speech in 2005, in which he declared: “The invasion of Iraq was a bandit act, an act of blatant state terrorism ... The crimes of the United States have been systematic, constant, vicious, remorseless ...” The war has left deep divisions within British society, and race relations have undoubtedly suffered. A minority of British Muslims regard the war as illegal, racist and brutal. That cleavage was dramatically demonstrated this month when protesters jeered at soldiers of The Royal Anglian Regiment at a homecoming parade in Luton, waving placards denouncing them as “butchers of Basra”, “murderers” and “baby- killers”. People who had come to cheer the soldiers returning from a tour of duty in Iraq reacted with fury, shouting “scum” at the demonstrators and waving Union Jacks.

Britain might well have faced terrorist attack without the Iraq war, yet the argument that there is no link between the invasion and the increased threat of domestic terrorism is hard to sustain. The consequences of the increased security are visible in ways large and small: lengthy queues at airports, increased surveillance, security cameras on every corner.

Britain has long prided itself on its military traditions, yet the war has raised important questions about the relationship between civilians and the military. The number of parades has increased in recent months, yet many soldiers face a chilly homecoming.

David Cameron, the Conservative leader, refers to the “unbreakable common bond of identity, loyalty and responsibility” between Britain and its Armed Forces, but a long, unpleasant and unpopular war has put that bond under unprecedented strain.

There have been well-publicised incidents in which soldiers have been abused or insulted, including the episode when local people objected to injured servicemen using a swimming pool at a leisure centre in Surrey. Last year personnel at RAF Wittering were told not to wear their uniforms in Peterborough, as they might be subjected to verbal abuse.

Beyond these isolated incidents, military leaders fear that soldiers are regarded by the public with something far more dangerous and intractable: shrugging indifference. General Sir Richard Dannatt, the head of the Army, has spoken of the “growing gulf between the Army and the nation”.

That sense of isolation is just one of the possible psychological strains facing returning soldiers. It is hard to quantify the after-effects of combat, but statistics appear to indicate that the worst effects of post-traumatic stress disorder do not emerge until 13 years after active deployment.

Many soldiers will slip easily back into British and then civilian life. Some thrive on the demands of war, and will find the experience gained on the battlefield valuable in later life. But some experts warn that Britain could face substantial problems with divorce, depression, alcohol and drug abuse among ex-servicemen. Combat Stress, the welfare society for former servicemen, has reported a 53 per cent increase in the number of veterans with mental health problems in the past three years. In five years, the number of former soldiers in prison is reported to have doubled.

Many of the effects of the Iraq war will fade with time. Anti-Americanism is waning with the arrival of a new president; writers and artists are turning to new subject matter; with British soldiers no longer occupying Iraq, the anger of some British Muslims may fade; as soldiers return, and their experiences are absorbed into the national memory, perhaps the military covenant will strengthen.

But Britain is not the same place that it was when the country marched to war. Six years later, like the soldiers themselves, this is a nation toughened and more realistic perhaps, but also conflict-weary and battle-scarred.

Five dead soldiers used 'unsafe' vehicle

Safety concerns have been raised about the military's latest vehicle introduced into Afghanistan after five soldiers were killed in it over the five months.

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Town pays tribute as bodies of another three soldiers killed in Afghanistan return home

Hundreds in in Wooton Bassett Wiltshire pay tribute to three soldiers killed in Afghanistan.

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Five Nato troops die in Afghanistan

Five Nato soldiers have been killed in Talibancontested areas of Afghanistan.

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Taliban have achieved stalemate in Afghanistan warns David Miliband

The Taliban has achieved a "strategic stalemate" in Afghanistan David Miliband the Foreign Secretary has admitted.

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US 'to expand Pakistan air strikes targeting alQaeda and the Taliban'

The US is considering proposals to expand air strikes targeting members of alQaeda and the Taliban into the province of Baluchistan beyond Pakistan's autonomous tribal region.

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Corporal Dean Thomas John and Corporal Graeme Stiff killed in Afghanistan

It is with great sadness that the Ministry of Defence must confirm the deaths of Corporal Graeme Stiff and Corporal Dean John of the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers in Helmand province on Sunday 15 March 2009.

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Helmand base to treble in size

Barack Obama has said US troops will surge in Afghanistan.
That will have a profound impact on British operations in Helmand – not least at Camp Bastion. Report by Ian Carr.

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Two British soldiers killed in Afghanistan blast

Two British soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan a day after the death of the 150th British serviceman.

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150th soldier to die in Afghanistan leaves behind young bride

The 150th British serviceman to die in Afghanistan came from a family of soldiers and leaves behind a young bride.

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Home from the war... and our troops are greeted by abuse from Muslim protesters

By Michael Seamark, Andrew Levy and Matt Sandy
Last updated at 1:25 AM on 11th March 2009

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Twice in two years they have fought in Iraq. Twelve of their regimental comrades paid the ultimate price there and in Afghanistan.

Over the past two years they have spent day after day patrolling hostile territory, where every passer-by could have a gun or a bomb.

So the 200 men of the 2nd Battalion Royal Anglian Regiment perhaps had a right to expect a heroes’ welcome yesterday on a homecoming parade through Luton.

Venom: Faces contorted with fury, some of the Muslim demonstrator who marred the homecoming of the Royal Anglian Regiment yesterday

Returning heroes: Members of the 2nd Battalion Royal Anglian Regiment parading through Luton yesterday after their tour of duty in Iraq

Instead, they were faced with the hate-filled jeers of anti-war protesters waving placards saying: ‘Anglian soldiers: Butchers of Basra,’ and ‘Anglian soldiers: cowards, killers, extremists.’

There was a furious reaction from the hundreds lining the streets to support the soldiers – known as the Poachers. Shouting ‘scum’ and ‘no surrender to the Taliban’, they turned on the Muslim demonstrators.

Police were already out in force to protect the anti-war group and arrested two men among the soldiers’ supporters.

Sickening: The protesters had printed out placards, branding the soldiers of the 2nd Battalion The Royal Anglian Regiment 'cowards' and 'killers'

Police closely monitor the anti-Army group as the 200-strong regiment passes through Luton town centre

Last night the mother of David Hicks, a captain with the Royal Anglian Regiment who was killed in Afghanistan in August 2007, called the protests ‘extremely distressing’.

‘I felt very saddened and extremely upset,’ said Mrs Hicks, of Wokingham, Berkshire. ‘I also feel a little angry. I think every mother or father who has lost somebody in Afghanistan or Iraq would feel very difficult about this.

‘It’s very easy to tarnish all the Muslim community with the same brush, but I do wonder, if the roles were reversed, if such a protest would be allowed in a Muslim country.’

Gordon Brown condemned the protests and ministers and senior politicians branded the demonstration ‘insulting’ and ‘sordid.’

Shadow Secretary of State for Defence Dr Liam Fox said: ‘This is offensive, appalling and disgraceful.

Elsewhere along the route hundreds of townsfolk turned out to clap and cheer on the soldiers

Tempers flared as pro-Army supporters took offence at the small protest and police were forced to separate the groups

'It is only because of the sacrifices made by our armed forces that these people live in a free society where they are able to make their sordid protests.’

Luton South Labour MP Margaret Moran called for an inquiry into the way police handled the incident.

She said: ‘Calling people baby-killers and the rest seems to amount to provocation of the worst kind when these lads and lasses have risked their lives for the freedom these people enjoy. It seems to me this amounted to huge provocation and was potentially racially divisive.’

But the Muslim protesters were unrepentant. Teacher Sayful Islam, self-styled leader of the Luton branch of al-Muhajiroun – the now-banned radical organisation led by Sheikh Omar Bakri – said: ‘The anger has been rising. The parade was the final insult.

‘They have killed, maimed and raped thousands of innocent people. They can’t come here and parade where there is such a Muslim community. What do they have to be proud of?’

Posters were displayed accusing the Army of maiming babies and innocent civilians in Iraq

Counter attack: A placard spells out backing for our troops

The battalion is based in Germany, but Bedfordshire is one of the areas where it recruits, along with neighbouring Hertfordshire and Northamptonshire.

Trouble flared as the soldiers marched to a meeting with the Duke of Gloucester, the regiment’s colonel-in-chief, and local dignitaries.

He said:' The anger has been rising up. The parade was the final insult.

'They have killed, maimed and raped thousands of innocent people. They can't come here and parade where there is such a Muslim community. What do they have to be proud of?'

Leaflets urging Muslims to demonstrate against the soldiers' homecoming had been distributed around Luton earlier in the week.

Under the headline 'Criminals' it railed against the troops' 'audacity' at marching though the town centre and accused them of having 'blood on their hands.'

View from behind the veil: A group of Muslim women at the demonstration

Sign of dissent: An anti-government message

It read 'Muhammad said :"He among you who sees a munkar (evil) should change it with his hand. If he can not do that , then with his tongue(by speaking out against it)".'

It finished with the words:' We urge the Muslims of Luton not to stay silent against these murderers of Muslim men, women and children and to do what we as Muslims have been obliged to do and speak against an open evil.'

Police had penned the protesters into a small area and two lines of officers separated them from a large number of local people, waving Union and St George’s flags. At one point a man climbed onto a roof and threw a packet of bacon at the Muslim group.

Bedfordshire police said the Muslim protesters were later ‘escorted from the area to a safe place to disperse’.

The force said last night: ‘Everything that went on will be examined and if any offences have been committed then we will arrest them.’

An Army spokesman said the battalion, which is due to take part in a similar march in Watford today, was ‘deeply touched’ by the strong support shown by the people of Luton.

He said: ‘There is no better boost to a soldier than to see hundreds of people turn out to watch them on parade.'

The regiment's tragic roll call

The Royal Anglian Regiment has lost ten soldiers during the Afghan conflict and two during the Iraq conflict.

Those killed in Afghanistan are:

• Private Aaron McClure, 19, from Ipswich, Suffolk; Private Robert Foster, 19, from Harlow, Essex; and Private John Thrumble, 21, from Chelmsford, Essex. All three were killed in a ‘ friendlyfire’ attack by a U.S. F15 fighter plane in Helmand on August 23, 2007.

• Captain David Hicks, 26, from Wokingham, Berkshire, was killed on August 11, 2007, when a patrol base in Helmand was attacked by small-arms fire and rocket-propelled grenades.
  
•  Private Tony Rawson, 27, from Dagenham, Essex, was killed on August 10, 2007, when his ‘attack’ patrol came under fire from the Taliban in Helmand.
  
• Lance Corporal Alex Hawkins, 22, from East Dereham, Norfolk, was killed on July 25, 2007, by an explosion as his patrol returned to base in Helmand.
  
• Corporal Darren Bonner, 31, from Gorleston, Norfolk, was killed on May 28, 2007, by an explosion when his convoy was attacked in Helmand.
• Lance Corporal George Davey, 23, from Beccles, Suffolk, shot himself during ‘a tragic firearms accident’ in Helmand on May 20. 2007.
• Private Chris Gray, 19, from Leicester, was killed during a firefight with the Taliban in Helmand on April 13, 2007.
• Private Darren George, 23, from Pirbright, Surrey, was shot by a colleague who had a ‘dizzy spell’ while handling a machine gun in Kabul on April 9, 2002.

Those killed in Iraq are:

• Private Adam Morris, 19, from Leicestershire; and Private Joseva Lewaicei, 25, from Fiji. Both were killed by a roadside bomb on patrol in Basra on May 13, 2006.

Murdered British soldier Patrick Azimkar: the would-be footballer who was ready for war

Life for Sapper Patrick Azimkar, one of the two British soldiers shot dead in Northern Ireland, might have been very different.

 

By John Bingham and Richard Edwards
Last Updated: 2:48PM GMT 09 Mar 2009

Sapper Patrick Azimkar, 21, from Wood Green, London, one of two soldiers shot dead by the Real IRA in County Antrim on Saturday night Photo: MINISTRY OF DEFENCE

Described by his officers and schoolmates alike as fiercely competitive, his talents on the football field were enough to impress the scouts at Tottenham Hotspur, near his home in north London, who gave him a trial for the club when he was in his teens.

But the dream of life as a top flight footballer did not materialise – in the end it would be his brother James, 25, whose career would carry a taste of glamour, as a model.

Instead he chose a career in the Army, signing up for the Royal Engineers three years ago, joining 38 Engineer Regiment.

Impressing his superiors as a young soldier full of energy and "true grit", he was already earmarked for possible promotion to become a Non Commissioned Officer on his return from his planned six-month tour of duty in Afghanistan.

The son of a Turkish Cypriot father, Mehmet, while his mother, Geraldine, is from Lancashire, the 21-year-old grew up in Wood Green, north London, where he attended Edmonton County School.

It was there that he came to the fore on the football field, playing in a school team which reached an English schools cup final at Villa Park, Birmingham, according to friends. It was from this that he was given a trial at Spurs.

"He was a character, he was funny, he was well mannered but he knew how to joke and he was dedicated to football," said Mete Karim, one of his schoolmates, who is now a student at the University of Bedfordshire.

"I saw him a few times since he joined the army, he has always been a happy guy with a smile on his face who would make a cheeky comment."

"He had infinite charisma and was always up for a bit of banter, said Sapper Dave Darling, a member of his squadron.

"If someone was in a bad mood he would be the first with the jokes to try and get them laughing again."

Training as a carpenter and joiner, as his military trade, he served with the regiment at Ripon, North Yorks, before having his first spell in Northern Ireland, on a construction task.

He was later posted to Kenya with the same infantry unit he was due to join in Afghanistan before moving to Antrim when his regiment took over Massareene Barracks as their headquarters.

For his Commanding Officer, Lt Col Roger Lewis of 38 Engineer Regiment, it was his performance during pre-deployment training for Afghanistan that marked him out.

"Always willing to go the extra mile to get the job done he never ceased to amaze me with his cheerful approach regardless of the conditions," he said.

"He couldn't wait to get to Helmand with the rest of his troop."

General David McKiernan: Taliban have achieved stalemate in Afghanistan

International forces are "not winning" their battle against the Taliban in southern Afghanistan the head of the Natoled coalition has said.

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Sappers Cengiz Azimkar and Mark Quinsey killed in Northern Ireland

It is with deep regret that the Ministry of Defence must confirm that Sappers Cengiz Azimkar and Mark Quinsey both from 25 Field Squadron, 38 Engineer Regiment, were killed in an attack at Massareene Barracks in Antrim, Northern Ireland, on Saturday 7 March 2009.

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'Real IRA was behind army attack'

A Dublin-based newspaper has received a call supposedly from the Real IRA which claimed responsibility for the attack at Massereene army base.

Using a recognised codename, it claimed responsibility for the attack in which two soldiers were killed.

Four other people, including two pizza delivery men, were also injured when gunmen struck at the Antrim base.

The prime minister described the attack as "evil" and said "no murderer" would derail the peace process.

The soldiers are the first to be murdered in Northern Ireland since Lance Bombardier Stephen Restorick was killed by an IRA sniper in 1997.

The dead men, both in their early 20s were due to fly to Afghanistan in the coming days.

Flowers have been laid at the scene and a vigil was held nearby on Sunday.

The Real IRA was born out of a split in the mainstream Provisional IRA in October 1997, when the IRA's so-called quartermaster-general resigned over Sinn Fein's direction in the peace process.

It carried out the worst single atrocity of over 30 years of violence in Northern Ireland when it bombed the County Tyrone town of Omagh, killing 29 people, in August 1998.

Gordon Brown: "The whole country is shocked and outraged"

The chief constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland has said he does not believe the attack at Massereene was a response to him deploying special forces soldiers.

Sir Hugh Orde had asked for help to gather intelligence on dissident activity.

Northern Ireland's top police officer also said he had no plans to deploy additional military personnel.

"The police deliver policing in Northern Ireland, and that is exactly how it is going to stay," he said.

Gordon Brown told the BBC: "I think the whole country is shocked and outraged at the evil and cowardly attacks on soldiers serving their country.

"We will do everything in our power to make sure that Northern Ireland is safe and secure and I assure you we will bring these murderers to justice.

"No murderer will be able to derail a peace process that has the support of the great majority of Northern Ireland."

All four injured men are being treated at Antrim Area Hospital, about a mile away from the scene.

Of those who were injured, three are in a serious condition and another is said to be serious but stable.

Pizza

Chief superintendent Derek Williamson said at about 2120 GMT on Saturday night a pizza delivery service sent two delivery men to the Antrim barracks. As they arrived, shots began to be fired from a car.

He said the pizza delivery men were an innocent party and both were among those injured.

After two gunmen with automatic rifles fired an initial volley of shots, which left those under attack lying on the ground, they moved forward and opened fire again.

Martin McGuinness: "No chance of bringing the peace process down"

He said: "There's no doubt whatsoever in my mind that this was an attempt at mass murder."

The area surrounding the barracks, which is home to 38 Engineer Regiment, has been sealed off.

The delivery drivers bullet-riddled cars are still at the scene.

Police are examining a car in Randalstown, five miles from the army base, which they suspect may have been used by the gunmen.

NI's Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness, a former IRA member, said nobody should say or do anything which would see Northern Ireland return to its troubles.

"I supported the IRA during the conflict, I myself was a member of the IRA but that war is over," said the Sinn Fein MP.

"Now the people responsible for that last night's incident are clearly signalling that they want to resume or restart that war."

Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams described the shooting as an attack on the "peace process" and said it was "wrong and counter-productive".

HOW THE ATTACKS HAPPENED 1. Soldiers order pizza from delivery shop in Antrim. Two cars leave shop at about 2120 GMT 2. Four soldiers collect pizza from main gate at Massereene Barracks. As they do, two gunmen open fire from a nearby car. Two soldiers are killed, four people seriously injured including the pizza delivery men 3. Vauxhall Cavalier which police believe the gunmen to have used recovered in Ranaghan Lane, nr Randalstown How the barracks attack happened

"Those responsible have no support, no strategy to achieve a United Ireland," he said.

"Their intention is to bring British soldiers back onto the streets. They want to destroy the progress of recent times and to plunge Ireland back into conflict."

Northern Ireland's First Minister and Democratic Unionist Party leader Peter Robinson offered his sympathies to the families of the victims, and said he and the Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness would postpone a scheduled trip to the United States.

Mr Robinson said the attack was a "terrible reminder of the events of the past".

He said information that those responsible had "deliberately turned their weapons on civilians" after murdering the soldiers gave an "idea of the crazed gunmen involved in this".

"It is the duty of everyone to ensure these people are defeated," he said.

Northern Ireland Secretary Shaun Woodward condemned the shootings as "an act of criminal barbarism".

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N Ireland is a peace loving country, we have moved way beyond conflict. This heinous act deserves the full condemnation of all

Tony, N Ireland

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Loyalist political representatives made a plea to people within their communities not to retaliate.

Frankie Gallagher, from the Ulster Political Research Group, which has links with the paramilitary UDA, said: "The people who carried out this attack have no mandate for their futile actions.

"Their communities, the Irish nationalist and republican communities in Northern Ireland, must let them know that loud and clear."

A spokesman for the US Department of State said: "Our condolences go out to the families of the slain soldiers.

"We call on all parties in Northern Ireland to unequivocally reject such senseless acts of violence, whose intention is to destroy the peace that so many in Northern Ireland have worked so hard to achieve."

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Two British troops killed in N. Ireland

Two British troops killed in N. Ireland

CNN

- Mar 08, 2009

(CNN) -- Two British military members were killed and another four people wounded in a "serious shooting incident" at an army base in Northern Ireland, ...

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UntitledTwo die in 'barbaric' Army attack

Two soldiers have been shot dead during a gun attack at an Army base in County Antrim, the Ministry of Defence says.

A spokesman said "four other personnel" were also injured when the gunmen struck at Massereene army base in Antrim, 16 miles north of Belfast.

No one has said they carried out the attack, but it is thought to be the work of dissident republicans.

Northern Ireland Secretary Shaun Woodward condemned the shootings as "an act of criminal barbarism".

Earlier reports suggested all those killed and injured were male. The MoD said the next of kin had been informed.

'Murderous attack'

Mr Woodward added: "My thoughts are with the families of those killed and injured in this murderous attack.

"The contrast between those who serve the community and those who would destroy it could not be clearer. The people who did this will be pursued and they will never stop the political process in Northern Ireland."

The attack was being investigated by the Police Service of Northern Ireland, the statement added.

The soldiers are the first to be murdered in Northern Ireland since Lance Bombardier Stephen Restorick was killed by an IRA sniper in 1997.

All four injured men have been taken to Antrim Area Hospital, about a mile away from the scene.

The condition of some were said to be serious.

'Loud bangs'

It is believed that there were two long busts of gunfire during the incident.

A major security operation is under way and the area surrounding the barracks, which is home to 38 Engineering Regiment, has been sealed off.

Eyewitness reports have suggested the victims were taking a pizza delivery when the shooting began.

One witness who lives near the base told the BBC how he looked to the sky after hearing what he thought were fireworks.

For the last 10 years, people believed things like this happened in foreign countries... Unfortunately it has returned to our doorstep Ian Paisley Junior Democratic Unionist Party Antrim shooting: Political reaction Testing time for Northern Ireland

He added: "Then I heard a lot of loud bangs again, only it was a lot more than there was initially - maybe between 10 and 20.

"Then the siren at the Army barracks went off. Then all you heard was the police sirens and ambulances and there was at least six ambulances.

"There was definitely six of the ambulances and God knows how many police cars - they just came out of the police station one after the other."

In a statement, Downing Street said everything possible would be done to ensure those responsible would be brought to justice.

"This is a terrible incident that we utterly condemn and the prime minister's thoughts, first and foremost, are with the families of those killed and with those seriously injured in this attack," it continued.

Northern Ireland's First Minister and Democratic Unionist Party leader Peter Robinson offered his sympathies to the families of the victims, and said he would postpone a scheduled trip to the United States.

Mr Robinson said the attack was "terrible reminder of the events of the past".

Rev Dr William McCrea at Massereene Barracks

He added: "These murders were a futile act by those who command no public support and have no prospect of success in their campaign. It will not succeed."

David Ford, the leader of the Alliance Party, said it was "inconceivable" that the attack could have been carried out by anyone other than dissident republicans.

"The important thing is that we must not see politics and the peace settlement that we have, fragile though it is, destabilised by this kind of action," he added.

The attack comes shortly after Sir Hugh Orde, the chief constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland, requested the Special Reconnaissance Regiment's help to gather intelligence on dissident republicans.

Mr Robinson said the Massereene attack vindicated his decision, which had been criticised by Sinn Fein.

In 2008, dissident republicans attempted to kill PSNI officers during separate incidents in Derry City and Dungannon, Co Tyrone.

Security forces defused a 300lb (136kg) bomb in Castlewellan, Co Down, close to a barracks in February 2009.

Ian Paisley Jnr, a DUP member of the Northern Ireland Assembly and the Policing Board, said the shooting could prove to be a defining moment in Northern Ireland's history.

He said: "For the last 10 years, people believed things like this happened in foreign countries, places like Basra. Unfortunately it has returned to our doorstep."

The leader of the nationalist SDLP, Mark Durkan, condemned the "murderous" attacks.

"Those who committed it are steeped in the mindset and means of past violence," he added.

"They need to understand this is not an attack on British army but the Irish people who have voted for and value above all else peaceful politics and democratic accommodation."

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