Soldiers leave for Iraq

The troops will carry out duties in southern Iraq

More than 100 Scots soldiers are heading for southern Iraq on peace-keeping duties.

The troops from the 1st Battalion The Royal Scots were heading for the Gulf as part of Operation Telic.

They will reinforce the UK's 20th Armoured Brigade during a six-month stint in Al Zubayr province and the city of Basra.

It means the soldiers face spending their second Christmas and New Year away from their families.

Last year, they were peace-keeping in Bosnia for six months and only returned to the UK earlier this year.

Everybody keeps saying that this is what we've all trained for, and it really is, and it's an exciting job to get over there Sergeant Alexander Russell

The soldiers, who are based at Edinburgh's Dreghorn Barracks, have spent the last month training in Germany and the UK for the tour.

Sergeant Alexander Russell said he was looking forward to the job in hand.

"Everybody keeps saying that this is what we've all trained for, and it really is, and it's an exciting job to get over there," he said.

"It's going to be busy for six months, there's no doubt about it, but the wives are left back with the kids which is sad at this time of year with Christmas, but we've just got to get on with it."

The Royal Scots will join 200 of their colleagues who are already in southern Iraq.

Major Gene Maxwell said the battalion would be involved in an area where security is still in issue.

"Their role in the town is going to be to provide local security, gather intelligence, find out what's going on, keeping a presence on the ground and at the same time trying to identify what needs to be done," said Major Maxwell.

"Through the winter it will go down to just above freezing at night, it's the start of the wet, rainy season and it does get a fair bit of rain and more sand storms than anything with the bad weather."