Post by Taxigirl on Nov 9, 2004 8:50:38 GMT
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/3994627.stm
The Black Watch battle group in Iraq are urgently reviewing tactics after the third attack on Camp Dogwood troops in five days killed a fourth soldier.
The scale of the casualties and the attacks' "intensity and sophistication" have led to "searching questions", the BBC's David Loyn said, from the camp.
He said the practice of troops going into villages in soft berets to gather information was being re-evaluated.
But a Black Watch spokesman said the troops were "more determined".
'Sophisticated enemy'
"While we mourn a lost colleague, the whole battle group has just been made more determined by this to complete our important mission," Capt Stuart Macaulay said.
"Our thoughts are with his family."
In Monday's incident, a Warrior armoured vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb just after dark, killing one soldier instantly and injuring two others.
David Loyn said the blast was powerful enough to blow the vehicle off the road, taking the wheels off one side.
He said flares immediately lit up the night sky around Camp Dogwood as the Black Watch battle group took up defensive positions to prevent any follow-up attacks by mortars or rockets.
It followed two suicide car bomb attacks - one on Sunday, in which two bomb disposal experts were injured, and one last Thursday in which three soldiers died.
Our correspondent said the Black Watch were under almost daily attacks and "now know that they are facing a much more sophisticated enemy than when they first came up here".
"The mood inside Camp Dogwood following that incident and the others is really quite sombre now."
A Downing Street spokesman said on Monday night: "Our thoughts are with the Black Watch battle group and their families after this incident.
"As the prime minister said this afternoon, we salute their dedication, professionalism and sheer courage."
Scottish National Party leader Alex Salmond expressed his sympathy to the family of the soldier killed in Monday's bombing, but criticised the battle group's redeployment.
He said: "I have nothing but admiration for the bravery and conduct of our Scottish soldiers, and nothing but contempt for the politicians who placed them in this deployment in the full knowledge of what would happen."
Leg injuries
An MoD statement said the Warrior vehicle "left the road, its wheels destroyed on one side".
"The injured men were taken by a US helicopter medevac team to a military hospital in Baghdad. "
Earlier on Monday two soldiers from the Royal Logistics Corps and the Royal Signals, who had been deployed at the camp, were treated in Germany for serious leg injuries sustained in Sunday's suicide bomb attack.
They were said to be in a stable condition after being flown from Iraq.
They had been serving with the Black Watch group in a bomb disposal unit when their vehicle was rammed by a the bomber.
Meanwhile a graphic video purportedly showing Thursday's suicide bombing at a checkpoint near Falluja was posted on an Islamic website.
It showed the aftermath of the explosion and the dead and wounded being evacuated by military vehicles and a helicopter.
Falluja assault
The Black Watch battle group includes an armoured reconnaissance from B Squadron, Queen's Dragoon Guards, elements of 40 Commando Royal Marines, and supporting specialists from the Royal Engineers, Royal Logistic Corps, Royal Electrical & Mechanical Engineers, and Royal Military Police.
It was redeployed to Camp Dogwood, 20 miles (32km) from Baghdad, on 27 October, while US Marines prepared for their assault on Falluja.
Black Watch soldiers have blocked off a key bridge on the eastern bank of the River Euphrates in an effort to stop fighters and weapons being moved by Sunni insurgents.
The Black Watch battle group in Iraq are urgently reviewing tactics after the third attack on Camp Dogwood troops in five days killed a fourth soldier.
The scale of the casualties and the attacks' "intensity and sophistication" have led to "searching questions", the BBC's David Loyn said, from the camp.
He said the practice of troops going into villages in soft berets to gather information was being re-evaluated.
But a Black Watch spokesman said the troops were "more determined".
'Sophisticated enemy'
"While we mourn a lost colleague, the whole battle group has just been made more determined by this to complete our important mission," Capt Stuart Macaulay said.
"Our thoughts are with his family."
In Monday's incident, a Warrior armoured vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb just after dark, killing one soldier instantly and injuring two others.
David Loyn said the blast was powerful enough to blow the vehicle off the road, taking the wheels off one side.
He said flares immediately lit up the night sky around Camp Dogwood as the Black Watch battle group took up defensive positions to prevent any follow-up attacks by mortars or rockets.
It followed two suicide car bomb attacks - one on Sunday, in which two bomb disposal experts were injured, and one last Thursday in which three soldiers died.
Our correspondent said the Black Watch were under almost daily attacks and "now know that they are facing a much more sophisticated enemy than when they first came up here".
"The mood inside Camp Dogwood following that incident and the others is really quite sombre now."
A Downing Street spokesman said on Monday night: "Our thoughts are with the Black Watch battle group and their families after this incident.
"As the prime minister said this afternoon, we salute their dedication, professionalism and sheer courage."
Scottish National Party leader Alex Salmond expressed his sympathy to the family of the soldier killed in Monday's bombing, but criticised the battle group's redeployment.
He said: "I have nothing but admiration for the bravery and conduct of our Scottish soldiers, and nothing but contempt for the politicians who placed them in this deployment in the full knowledge of what would happen."
Leg injuries
An MoD statement said the Warrior vehicle "left the road, its wheels destroyed on one side".
"The injured men were taken by a US helicopter medevac team to a military hospital in Baghdad. "
Earlier on Monday two soldiers from the Royal Logistics Corps and the Royal Signals, who had been deployed at the camp, were treated in Germany for serious leg injuries sustained in Sunday's suicide bomb attack.
They were said to be in a stable condition after being flown from Iraq.
They had been serving with the Black Watch group in a bomb disposal unit when their vehicle was rammed by a the bomber.
Meanwhile a graphic video purportedly showing Thursday's suicide bombing at a checkpoint near Falluja was posted on an Islamic website.
It showed the aftermath of the explosion and the dead and wounded being evacuated by military vehicles and a helicopter.
Falluja assault
The Black Watch battle group includes an armoured reconnaissance from B Squadron, Queen's Dragoon Guards, elements of 40 Commando Royal Marines, and supporting specialists from the Royal Engineers, Royal Logistic Corps, Royal Electrical & Mechanical Engineers, and Royal Military Police.
It was redeployed to Camp Dogwood, 20 miles (32km) from Baghdad, on 27 October, while US Marines prepared for their assault on Falluja.
Black Watch soldiers have blocked off a key bridge on the eastern bank of the River Euphrates in an effort to stop fighters and weapons being moved by Sunni insurgents.