Hoon sends more soldiers to Iraq

Two Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders soldiers in Belfast

The Defence Secretary, Geoff Hoon, has announced that the 1st Battalion of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders will be deployed to Iraq in January.

The 500 troops will spend six months there as part of an effort to speed up the training of Iraqi security forces.

The Ministry of Defence stressed that the deployment did not represent a rise in the number of soldiers in Iraq.

Mr Hoon's announcement in the Commons came a day after the capture of Saddam Hussein near Tikrit.

Military police

Two platoons of the Royal Military Police, drawn from the 101 and 156 Provost Companies will also be sent to Iraq in January.

The defence secretary said the security situation in Iraq remained "challenging" with the vast majority of the attacks to the north and west of Baghdad.

Mr Hoon added that he hoped the events of this weekend - a reference to the capture of Saddam - would lead to a reduction in these incidents.

The regimental headquarters of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders is Stirling Castle.

Its recruitment area stretches from the Western Isles to the Firth of Forth.