In the line of fire

In the line of fire

Nick Parker
With the Duke of Wellington's Regiment, Southern Iraq

I went on patrol with British troops on the front line of Iraq's guerrilla war on Thursday - and marvelled at their courage.

News had just broken of the sick TV parade of two captured British soldiers' bodies as I set off along the same road where the pair were seized.

And I felt sick with anxiety as an army Land Rover transported me to the grim and dangerous wasteland haunted by Saddam Hussein's henchmen.

Iraqi troops grabbed the two soldiers from a vehicle identical to the one I was sitting in after blasting their armoured convoy with rockets and machine guns.

What's happening back home? Do they support us now?

British soldier

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Black Watch in aid role

UK aid to reach Iraq

The air crackled with tension and the sound of distant gunfire as we moved north of the border town of Safwan - where the soldiers were captured - towards Basra.

A bearded shepherd in grubby traditional garb smiled and waved as he ushered his flock into our path and British troops waved back.

A family in a battered white saloon pipped their horn and gave us the thumbs up and victory v signs moments later.

Lack of response

But others on the route - including groups of young hard-faced men in cars - delivered no cheery greeting.

And the fear of sudden and deadly attack was never far away as we moved north to an army checkpoint set up to halt the flow of enemy weapons.

Abandoned Iraqi tanks littered the sandy scrubland on either side of the four-lane highway.

UK troops have a base in Safwan

But machine gunners on Land Rovers in front and behind me were more worried by the threat from low rise homes providing perfect cover for an ambush.

One of the gunners swivelled to fix his sights on suspicious movement in one of the primitive buildings, bringing a lump to my throat as we sped on.

But a white flag was hurriedly thrust through the driver's window and the moment of tension passed.

As we reached a British army checkpoint, more locals appeared - women with children in their arms scooping water from puddles with buckets.

Moving sight

It was impossible not to be moved by the plight of the children in particular - one boy of about the same age as my own eight-year-old son scrabbling in a puddle for a drink.

The war's toll of suffering looks certain to increase as Red Cross engineers struggle to reconnect bombed out water supplies - and Iraqi thugs block the passage of aid.

But I was struck even more by the effect the war is having on the brave young British soldiers who suddenly find themselves cast into this lethal wilderness.

One young squaddie asked me repeatedly: "What's happening back home? Do they support us now?"

This same fresh-faced lad in his early 20s could soon find himself fighting street-to-street against a cunning enemy shielded by innocent civilians.

He nodded and smiled as I reassured him that the whole country was backing our troops 100%.

His platoon commander said: "We've all noticed the change in our attitudes since we got here.

"We've had a bit of a wake up call but it won't stop us finishing the job.

"The younger lads who've never seen combat before are the most anxious but they're facing their fear and are determined to do their best.

"We have a fight on our hands - and it's turning our boys into men."

This is pooled copy from Nick Parker of The Sun, embedded with the British army in southern Iraq.