Dead Black Watch soldiers named

[Salem6]

The three Black Watch soldiers killed in a suicide bomb attack in central Iraq have been named.


The Black Watch soldiers have handed out pamphlets to Iraqis

Sgt Stuart Grey, Pte Paul Lowe and Pte Scott McArdle were killed on the eastern bank of the River Euphrates, near Falluja, on Thursday.

Commander of the regiment Lt Col James Cowan, who named the men, said their deaths were a painful blow.

But he said the Black Watch would not be deterred from seeing through their mission to a successful conclusion.

The bodies of the soldiers were due to be flown back to the UK on Friday.

Two of the eight other troops wounded in the attack remain in hospital but were due to be released on Friday.

Active patrols

Earlier the government said it was up to local commanders whether to continue patrols on the east bank of the river.

But Armed Forces minister Adam Ingram said the deaths - the first British losses to suicide attacks - could have happened anywhere in Iraq.






An Iraqi interpreter also died in the incident.

Maj Gordon Stacey, who visited his injured soldier son at the Black Watch's UK barracks in Warminster, Wiltshire, on Thursday, said the battle group's start to its new patrol was "absolutely devastating".

"But I don't think it was totally unexpected that something like this would happen," said Major Stacey who left the barracks before news of the deaths was announced.

"Obviously moving from Basra up north to the area they've gone to, which is deemed more dangerous, we were expecting something of this sort."

Liberal Democrat foreign affairs spokesman Menzies Campbell said that, while Black Watch Troops would be "shocked" by the deaths, it would not stop them from "doing the job".

"This is a regiment with an enormous tradition and with tremendous professionalism and commitment," he told BBC News.

"I'm sure that once the initial shock has worn off of these terrible events then, in the regiment at least, there will be a determination to continue to show that very professionalism."






The latest attack brings to 73 the number of UK military personnel killed in Iraq, although only 31 have actually been as a result of enemy attacks.

The east side of the river had been controlled by US marines until this week, when the Black Watch began active patrols from their base at Camp Dogwood on the west bank of the river.

On Thursday, a spokesman for Tony Blair said: "The prime minister's thoughts are with the Black Watch and the families of the Black Watch."

Scotland's First Minister, Jack McConnell, said: "No words will be able to ease the pain of their terrible loss, but the thoughts of everyone in Scotland are with them."

But there was anger from the SNP, with leader Alex Salmond attacking the ministers responsible.

He told the BBC: "There will be shock and grief across Scotland. But that will give way to a feeling of anger as we contrast the bravery of our soldiers with the duplicity of the politicians who sent them there."

'State of shock'

BBC correspondent Ben Brown said the deaths have left the battle group in a "state of shock".

He said: "It will have hit the regiment very hard - they are a very close Scottish regiment with a long and proud history."

Since British Black Watch troops arrived they have come under attack from mortars fired at Camp Dogwood.

The battle group were sent to patrol new territory along the eastern bank of the River Euphrates in terrain that was not previously in their area of operations.

They expanded their operations in an attempt to stop rebels reaching Falluja.



The Black Watch turned back schoolchildren from their makeshift pontoon bridge



The Black Watch battle group comprises three companies of armoured infantry from the 1st Battalion The Black Watch, with some 500 men and 50 Warrior armoured fighting vehicles.

They are supported by a reconnaissance unit from the largely-Welsh Queen's Dragoon Guards, with around 100 men and 12 Scimitar armoured vehicles, and a 50-strong Royal Marine light infantry unit from 40 Commando.

The Black Watch traditionally recruits from Perthshire, Angus and Fife, is based in Warminster, Wiltshire.

Critics of the deployment have suggested it has dragged Britain deeper into the turmoil of post-war Iraq and was part of political manoeuvring by the American government during their campaign for re-election.



Video:-

Inside the Black Watch camp
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[Salem6]

The death of three Black Watch soldiers during military operations in Iraq brings the total number of fatalities among UK service personnel to 73.


Corporal Marc Taylor died in an ambush near Basra in September

The incident happened when a unit were travelling outside of their base Camp Dogwood, their new base south-west of Baghdad, and were ambushed by insurgents.

The first UK fatalities occurred at around midnight GMT on 21 March 2003 - the day after the start of the war - when a US Sea Knight helicopter crashed south of the Kuwait border, killing all eight British and four US personnel on board.

So who are the servicemen and woman who have died in Iraq?


NOVEMBER 2004 CASUALTIES

Three soldiers with the Black Watch are killed in an ambush near their base of Camp Dogwood.



Armed Forces Minister Adam Ingram confirmed the deaths to the House of Commons but gave no other details.

An Iraqi interpreter may also have been killed in the attack, according to reports.

The 850-strong force have been attacked repeatedly since arriving at Camp Dogwood, 20 miles south-west of Baghdad.

The battle group were sent to patrol new territory along the eastern bank of the River Euphrates in terrain that was not previously in their area of operations.

They expanded their operations in an attempt to stop rebels reaching Falluja


OCTOBER 2004 CASUALTIES

A Black Watch soldier, Private Kevin McHale, 27, from Fife, was killed when his Warrior armoured vehicle overturned after the bridge it was crossing collapsed. The incident did not involve hostile action. Three other soldiers were injured.



Staff Sgt Denise Rose, 34, of the Royal Military Police's Special Investigation Branch, was found dead from a gunshot at the Army base in the Shatt-al-Arab Hotel in Basra on 31 October. The MoD said the death was not believed to be the result of hostile action.

SEPTEMBER 2004 CASUALTIES

A British soldier - Fusilier Stephen Jones, The Royal Welch Fusiliers - died in a road traffic accident near al-Amara on 10 September.

Two British soldiers died following the ambush of a military convoy south-west of Basra on 28 September. They were named as Corporal Marc Taylor, from the Royal Electrical & Mechanical Engineers, and Gunner David Lawrence, of the Royal Artillery.



AUGUST 2004 CASUALTIES


Pte Lee O'Callaghan was killed during an attack by insurgents



On 4 August, Pte Christopher Gordon Rayment, 22, was killed at Amarah in a "tragic accident". He came from London and was serving with the 1st Battalion The Princess of Wales' Royal Regiment.

Five days later, Pte Lee O'Callaghan was killed in Basra during an attack by insurgents, followed on 12 August by another soldier's death when an improvised explosive device detonated on a roadside.

A British soldier - Lance Corporal Paul Thomas of The Light Infantry - was killed in an exchange of fire with insurgents in Basra on 17 August.


JULY 2004 CASUALTIES

Flight Lieutenant Kristian Michel Alexander Gover was killed in a helicopter accident at Basra International Airport on 19 July. Aged 30 and unmarried, he was a Puma helicopter pilot serving with 33 Squadron, based at RAF Benson in Oxfordshire.

JUNE 2004 CASUALTIES

One British soldier was killed and two others injured in an improvised explosive device attack on a UK military convoy in Basra on 28 June. Fusilier Gordon Campbell Gentle, 19, served with the 1st Battalion Royal Highland Fusiliers, and was single.
FEBRUARY 2004 CASUALTIES

On 12 February, Corporal Richard Thomas David Ivell, of the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, was killed in a vehicle accident at Shaibah Logistics Base.

JANUARY 2004 CASUALTIES

Another road accident in Baghdad on 1 January 2004 left two British soldiers dead. They were Major James Stenner, of the Welsh Guards, and Sergeant Norman Patterson, of the Cheshire Regiment.


Sgt Hamilton-Jewell was gunned down at a police station


On 7 January this year, Lance Corporal Andrew James Craw, of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, died following an incident on a training range near Basra.

Rifleman Vincent Calvin Windsor, of the Royal Green Jackets, died in a road traffic accident at Al Amarah on 21 January.

Sapper Robert Thomson, of the Royal Engineers, died in a "tragic incident" at Basra Palace on 31 January.

NOVEMBER 2003 CASUALTIES

On 6 November, Private Ryan Thomas, of the Royal Regiment of Wales, was killed in a road accident in Basra.

OCTOBER 2003 CASUALTIES

Corporal Ian Plank, a Royal Marines NCO, was killed by hostile fire during an operation on 31 October.

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SEPTEMBER 2003 CASUALTIES

Sergeant John Nightingale, another Territorial Army soldier, of 217 Transport Squadron, died in an incident on 23 September while serving at Shaibah, near Basra. His death, which is under investigation, involved a firearm but was not the result of enemy action.


AUGUST 2003 CASUALTIES

A Territorial Army soldier, Private Jason Smith, of 52nd Lowland Regiment, died on 13 August in southern Iraq. The cause of his death is still under investigation but was not the result of hostile action, according to the MoD.

On 14 August, Captain David Jones, of Queen's Lancashire Regiment, was killed during a bomb attack on a military ambulance in Basra.

A further three soldiers from the Royal Military Police were killed during an incident in central Basra on 23 August. They were Major Matthew Titchener, Company Sergeant Major Colin Wall and Corporal Dewi Pritchard.

Fusilier Russell Beeston, a Territorial Army soldier in 52nd Lowland Regiment, was killed in an incident in Ali As Sharqi in southern Iraq on 27 August.

JULY 2003 CASUALTIES

Captain James Linton, of 40 Field Regiment, Royal Artillery, collapsed and died on 18 July in southern Iraq.

JUNE 2003 CASUALTIES


Sgt Steven Roberts, from 1st Batallion The Black Watch, died in March 2003


Six Royal Military Police soldiers were gunned down at a civilian police station in Al Majar al-Kabir, near Basra, on 24 June.

They were Sergeant Simon Alexander Hamilton-Jewell, Corporal Russell Aston, Corporal Paul Graham Long, Corporal Simon Miller, Lance Corporal Benjamin John McGowan Hyde, and Lance Corporal Thomas Richard Keys.



MAY 2003 CASUALTIES

On 6 May, Private Andrew Kelly from 3rd Battalion, The Parachute Regiment, died in an accident.

Duncan Pritchard, an RAF Regiment Gunner, died in hospital in the UK on 8 May, following injuries sustained in a traffic accident in Iraq.

On 19 May, Corporal David Shepherd, an RAF policeman, died in Kuwait, believed to be from natural causes.

Leonard Harvey, a civilian member of the Defence Fire Service, died in a UK hospital on 22 May after falling ill in the Gulf.


APRIL 2003 CASUALTIES

Two soldiers from the Household Cavalry Regiment were killed when their armoured vehicle overturned on 1 April. Lance Corporal Karl Shearer died at the scene and Lieutenant Alexander Tweedie died of his injuries in hospital three weeks later.


On 6 April, a further three soldiers were killed in action in Basra. They were Fusilier Kelan John Turrington, Lance Corporal Ian Keith Malone and Piper Christopher Muzvuru.

Lance Corporal James McCue, of 7 Air Assault Battalion, was killed in an explosion in southern Iraq on 30 April.
MARCH 2003 CASUALTIES

Eight British service personnel died when a helicopter crashed on 21 March 2003. The Britons, from 3 Commando Brigade, were Colour Sergeant John Cecil, Lance Bombardier Llywelyn Karl Evans, Captain Philip Stuart Guy, Marine Sholto Hedenskog, Sergeant Les Hehir, Operator Mechanic (Communications) Second Class Ian Seymour, Warrant Officer Second Class Mark Stratford, and Major Jason Ward.

The next day at around 0130 GMT on 22 March, a further six British servicemen died when two Royal Navy Sea King helicopters collided over the northern Arabian Gulf. They were Lieutenant Philip Green, Lieutenant Antony King, Lieutenant Marc Lawrence, Lieutenant Philip West, Lieutenant James Williams and Lieutenant Andrew Wilson, all of 849 Squadron.


Lance Corporal of Horse Matty Hull died on 28 March 2003



Flight Lieutenant Kevin Barry Main and Flight Lieutenant David Rhys Williams were both killed on 23 March when their RAF GR4 Tornado aircraft was downed by a US Patriot missile close to the Kuwaiti border.

Also on 23 March, Sapper Luke Allsopp and Staff Sergeant Simon Cullingworth were reported missing and later confirmed as killed after an attack on British military vehicles in southern Iraq.

On 24 March, Sergeant Steven Mark Roberts, from 2nd Royal Tank Regiment, and Lance Corporal Barry Stephen, from 1st Battalion The Black Watch, were both killed in action during operations near Az Zubayr in southern Iraq.

The next day, two soldiers from the Queen's Royal Lancers were killed in a "friendly fire incident" when their tank accidentally collided with another tank on the outskirts of Basra. The deceased were Corporal Stephen John Allbutt and Trooper David Jeffrey Clarke.


Sapper Allsopp and Sgt Cullingworth were killed in southern Iraq


Three days later, on 28 March, an incident involving light armoured vehicles of D Squadron, The Blues & Royals, of the Household Cavalry Regiment, resulted in the death of Lance Corporal of Horse Matty Hull.

On 30 March three British servicemen died in separate incidents. Lance Corporal Shaun Andrew Brierley, of 212 Signal Squadron, was killed in a road accident in Kuwait, while Christopher Maddison, a Royal Marine, was killed in action during fighting in Basra. The third soldier, Major Steve Ballard, of 3 Commando Brigade, died of natural causes.

Staff Sergeant Chris Muir, from the Army School of Ammunition of the Royal Logistic Corps, was killed during an explosive ordnance disposal operation in southern Iraq on 31 March.

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