Black Watch soldiers returning home

An advance party of soldiers from the Black Watch returned home from Iraq today, the Ministry of Defence said.

An advance party of soldiers from the Black Watch returned home from Iraq today, the Ministry of Defence said.

Around two dozen of the battle-scarred regiment's troops arrived back at base in Warminster, Wiltshire, ahead of the main arrivals this weekend.

The Black Watch battle-group - about 850 troops and support personnel - came back to Basra recently after being re-deployed to Camp Dogwood in central Iraq.

Five members of the regiment were killed during their month-long operation, which freed up American troops for an assault on insurgents in Fallujah.

A MoD spokesman said: "An advance party of around a couple of dozen returned today to Warminster, which consisted of logistics people and key enablers who enable a contingent to bed down."