London: The war in Iraq has claimed the life of the 100th British soldier, re-opening the debate on whether British troops should return home.
Corporal Gordon Pritchard of the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards was killed when a roadside bomb blew up the Land Rover he was traveling in Basra.
Funeral services took place on Monday for Pritchard. The 31-year-old had joined the army as a teenager, and was commanding a routine rations and water when he was killed.
A lone bagpiper played as the funeral procession arrived at St Nicholas's Church in Radstock, Somerset, in the west of England, passing dozens of well-wishers along the way.
The death of the father of three prompted fresh calls for Britain, which has about 8,000 troops based in Iraq's four southern provinces, to withdraw its forces, nearly three years after the US and British invasion.
Six soldiers from Pritchard's regiment carried his coffin, which was draped with the Union Jack flag, into the church, followed by his widow and parents for the hour-long service.
Originally from Scotland's capital Edinburgh, Pritchard joined the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards at the age of 17 and was one of a number of soldiers pictured with Prime Minister Tony Blair on one of his visits to Iraq.
(With AFP inputs)
Comments
0 comment