Black Watch show bombers will not divert them from mission

Hours after the attack, A Company were back out on patrol in the village of Ahmad al-Hamadi on the west bank of the River Euphrates.

The 50 soldiers left their Warrior armoured fighting vehicles on the village outskirts and set out on foot amid the date palms and grazing livestock.

The patrol’s mission was to gather much-needed intelligence on the area and its potential threat, using intelligence officers to strike up conversations with locals.

"The message is: ‘Don’t get angry, get even’," said Major Alistair Aitken, the company commander. "The way to do that is by getting information on what’s out there and the way to do that is to talk to people."

Captain Stuart Macaulay said that the troops were determined to complete their task. "The only way you will move this campaign forward is by getting to know people and by expressing the fact that we’re here to help not hinder.

"It’s hard for these guys to switch one minute from experiencing extreme violence to being friendly, but they are all professional soldiers and that’s what they do."

Despite the village’s lush setting and affluent homes, evidence of militia activity has been uncovered recently, according to Lance Corporal Danny Buist.

"The last time I was here one of the guys kicked a piece of cardboard and underneath was a machine gun and more rounds of ammunition than you could shake a stick at," he said. "It was all ready to rock and roll."

Iraq will hold national elections on 27 January to decide its political destiny, its vice-president, Ibrahim al-Jaafari, said yesterday.

"Bar a catastrophe, the elections will be held on this date.

"There is total agreement that they are a must for a stable and sovereign Iraq," said Mr Jaafari, who heads the Shiite al-Dawa party.