Today’s defence related media coverage includes news on the death of a British soldier in Taji, Iraq.
UK service personnel death
Most national newspapers, including The Daily Mail and The Sun report on the death of a British soldier from the 2nd Battalion the Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment in Iraq yesterday. All the papers say that the death was not as a result of enemy activity. The Daily Telegraph says that the death is the first in Iraq for eight years.
An MOD spokesperson said:
It is with regret that the Ministry of Defence must announce the death of a soldier from the 2nd Battalion the Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment.
The death occurred in Taji, Iraq following an incident that is currently under investigation, but we can confirm that it was not as a result of enemy activity.
The family has been informed and has requested a period of grace before the name is released.
British death fighting Daesh in Syria
The Independent, The Daily Mail, The Guardian, The Daily Telegraph, and The Times all report that British former chef Ryan Lock, 20, from Chichester, has been killed while fighting Daesh alongside Kurdish forces in Syria. He died on 21 December during an offensive against the Daesh held city of Raqqa.
Passchendaele centenary
The Guardian, The Herald, The Scotsman and the Daily Mirror all report that commemorations will take place in Belgium in the summer to mark the centenary of the battle of Passchendaele. Four thousand free tickets for the events will be made available to descendants of British soldiers killed at the battle. More than half a million troops – 325,000 allied troops and 260,000 Germans – died in the battle, officially known as the Third Battle of Ypres, in the West Flanders region of northern Belgium in 1917.
You can read more about Passchendaele commemorations here.
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