THE bodies of five Colchester-based soldiers killed in Afghanistan last week have arrived back in the UK.
THE bodies of five Colchester-based soldiers killed in Afghanistan last week have arrived back in the UK.
They were flown into RAF Lyneham in Wiltshire for a repatriation ceremony attended by loved ones.
The men were all from the 2nd Battalion, the Parachute Regiment. News of their deaths left the community devastated last week, and saw Colchester pay a moving tribute to their fallen troops on Friday.
Privates Nathan Cuthbertson and David Murray, both 19, and Daniel Gamble, 22, were blown up by a suicide bomber last Sunday.
On Thursday, Lance Corporal James Bateman, 29, and Private Jeff Doherty, 20, were killed when they came under Taliban fire.
Their deaths took the number of British service personnel killed in Afghanistan since November 2001 to 102.
It comes as more troops have today been pledged to the effort in Afghanistan. Up to 300 will be deployed over the next few weeks, bringing the number of UK troops in the country to more than 8,000.
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