Soldier killed in Basra named

The latest British soldier killed in Iraq has been named as Major Paul Harding from 4th Battalion The Rifles.

Major Harding died as a result of an indirect fire attack on the Provincial Joint Co-ordination Centre in Basra.

The 48-year-old lived in Winchester with his wife and two sons and had been in the army for 30 years.

His commanding officer Lieutenant Colonel Patrick Sanders OBE said: "A eulogy is intended to celebrate the life of the person whose name it bears and to pay him respect and honour in death.

"But as I sit here in Basra Palace trying to do justice to Major Paul Harding, there are simply no words that can do the job adequately.

"Paul was killed by an enemy mortar round and with that I lost a close friend, comrade and confidant."

He continued: "But our loss is as nothing. His family have lost a husband, father, brother, son and friend and their grief will be inconsolable. Truly the thoughts and prayers of every single Rifleman in the Battalion are with them in their hour of need and beyond.

"It may seem strange to talk of love between soldiers, but the very best officers and soldiers inspire extraordinary love, devotion and loyalty in their fellow men. Paul was such a man."

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