Blair defiant on Iraq as death toll hits 100

BRITISH Prime Minister Tony Blair last night vowed to see through the job in Iraq after the British armed forces death toll reached 100.

He said it was a tragedy when any soldier died - but it was important to remember why they were there.

“It is important because what is happening in Afghanistan and Iraq is that the people of those countries want to leave behind terrorism and extremism and they want to embrace democracy,” he told the BBC.

The number of British armed forces personnel who have died since the start of hostilities in Iraq reached 100 yesterday, sparking widespread condemnation from families of the bereaved and anti-war factions.

Elsewhere, three Iraqi soldiers were killed and six wounded in a gun battle in Buhriz, a tense Sunni Arab town 48 kilometres north-east of Baghdad. Police also said a roadside bomb struck a US patrol in Samarra, but there was no word on casualties.

Authorities said, meanwhile, there was no word on kidnapped US journalist Jill Carroll, who appeared weeping and veiled in a new videotape aired by Al-Jazeera.

In Tokyo, Japan’s Kyodo News agency said Japan will begin withdrawing its troops from Iraq in March and complete the pull-out by May, ending its largest military mission since the end of World War II.

The latest British death occurred yesterday morning in Um Qasr, the southern province of Basra.

The soldier killed was named by the Ministry of Defence as 31-year-old Corporal Gordon Alexander Pritchard.

His death brings the number of British armed forces personnel who have lost their lives since the start of hostilities in Iraq to 100.

Cpl Pritchard, who was married with children, was commanding the lead Land Rover as part of a three-vehicle convoy when there was an explosion.

Mr Blair’s spokesperson said earlier that the prime minister was “deeply saddened” by the deaths and that his thoughts were with the grieving families.

British Defence Secretary John Reid paid tribute to the “determination, courage, professionalism and sacrifice” of British personnel in Iraq.

Mr Reid said the 100th death was cause for a moment’s reflection of the contribution British servicemen and women had made to international stability.

He said the troops were playing a vital role in “lifting the burden of tyranny” from troubled countries such as Iraq and Afghanistan.

Of the 100 British military personnel who have died since March 2003, 77 have been killed as a result of hostile action while 23 died from other causes.

The 100th death provoked a series of calls for British troops to be withdrawn from the troubled country.

Stop the War Coalition said they would hold a protest in Parliament Square to read out the names of the dead.

Reg Keys, whose son Thomas was one of six Redcaps killed by a mob near Basra in 2003, said the deaths were “100% preventable.”