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| Servicemen's bodies brought home | Servicemen's bodies brought home |
| (40 minutes later) | |
| The bodies of five British servicemen killed in recent attacks in Afghanistan have been repatriated to the UK. | |
| They arrived in a transport aircraft at RAF Brize Norton, Oxfordshire. | |
| The men include L/Cpl Paul Muirhead, L/Cpl Luke McCulloch and Fijian Ranger Anare Draiva, all from the 1st Battalion of the Royal Irish Regiment. | The men include L/Cpl Paul Muirhead, L/Cpl Luke McCulloch and Fijian Ranger Anare Draiva, all from the 1st Battalion of the Royal Irish Regiment. |
| Private Craig O'Donnell was from the 5th Battalion of the Royal Regiment of Scotland and Cpl Mark Wright was from the 3rd Battalion Parachute Regiment. | Private Craig O'Donnell was from the 5th Battalion of the Royal Regiment of Scotland and Cpl Mark Wright was from the 3rd Battalion Parachute Regiment. |
| The five servicemen were all killed this month after attacks by insurgents in Afghanistan. | The five servicemen were all killed this month after attacks by insurgents in Afghanistan. |
| Defence Secretary Des Browne and Chief of the Defence Staff Air Chief Marshall Sir Jock Stirrup joined the men's families and friends at Brize Norton for the repatriation service. | Defence Secretary Des Browne and Chief of the Defence Staff Air Chief Marshall Sir Jock Stirrup joined the men's families and friends at Brize Norton for the repatriation service. |
| The coffin bearers were drawn from the three units of the deceased. | |
| September attacks | |
| Ranger Draiva, 27, was killed in an attack by Taleban insurgents on his base at Musa Quala, in Helmand Province on 1 September. | |
| Fijian Ranger Anare Draiva was among the men killed in action | |
| His commanding officer Lt Col Michael McGovern called him "a superb, strong and courageous soldier". | |
| L/Cpl Muirhead, 29, was critically injured in the same incident and died five days later in hospital, with his parents from Bearley, Warwickshire, at his bedside. | |
| Col McGovern, said he had been "a calm, confident and determined member of the Patrols Platoon." | |
| L/Cpl Luke McCulloch, 21, the third soldier who died from the 1st Battalion of the Royal Irish Regiment, was killed in a battle with insurgents in Sangin, in Helmand province, on 6 September. | |
| The serviceman, originally from Cape Town, South Africa, was a "truly outstanding soldier", Col McGovern said, adding he had been "a delight to have around and always the centre of attention". | |
| Cpl Mark Wright: "An outstanding soldier" | |
| Pte O'Donnnell, 24, from Clydebank, Dunbartonshire, was killed in a suicide bomb attack on a Nato military convoy on 4 September. | |
| His girlfriend Jessica is expecting their first child in December. | |
| The soldier's parents, Robert and Lorraine, said their son had been "a happy-go-lucky person who always put others first." | |
| Cpl Wright from Edinburgh, was killed in a landmine explosion in northern Helmand province on 6 September. Five other service personnel were injured in the same incident. | |
| His commanding officer, Lt Col Stuart Tootal, said the 27-year-old had been an "an outstanding soldier". | |
| He said Cpl Wright was killed while attempting to assist a fellow paratrooper who had been injured in a mine incident. |