Three British soldiers killed in an ambush in Afghanistan have been named by the Ministry of Defence.
2nd Lieutenant Ralph Johnson, aged 24, Lance Corporal Ross Nicholls, aged 27, both of the Household Cavalry, and Captain Alex Eida, 29, of 7 Parachute Regiment, Royal Horse Artillery, were ambushed in the lawless Afghan province of Helmand yesterday, just 24 hours after the alliance took over operations there.
The incident, coupled with the death of another soldier in Iraq, was the biggest loss of life suffered by British troops in a single day since May 7, when a Lynx helicopter with five on board was shot down over Basra.
Lance Corporal Nicholls, from London, leaves behind a newborn baby girl Erin, along with his wife Angela and two-year-old son Cameron. He enlisted into the Royal Corps of Signals in August 2005, and he also served in Iraq as well as Afghanistan.
In a bitter irony, Lance Corporal Nicholls had chosen to leave the Army - but had opted to serve in Afghanistan before he did so.
"He volunteered to deploy to Afghanistan despite the fact he had decided to leave the Army, and was serving as Lieutenant Johnson’s operator when he was killed in an ambush during the early hours of the Aug 1 in Northern Helmand. With his death the Household Cavalry Regiment has suffered the loss of a talented soldier and our thoughts and prayers go out to his family and friends," said Lieutenant Colonel Edward Smyth-Osbourne, Commanding Officer of the Household Cavalry Regiment, based in Windsor.
Captain Eida, of the Royal Horse Artillery, was single and lived in Surrey. A graduate in technology with business studies from the University of Glamorgan with a passion for travelling, Captain Eida had worked at Camp America and a ski-instructor in France before joining the Army and graduating from the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst.
He joined the 7 Parachute Regiment Royal Horse Artillery in October 2002, serving in Iraq in 2003, Kosovo in 2004 and, finally, as a forward observation officer in Afghanistan in 2006.
Lieutenant Colonel David Hammond, his Commanding Officer, said: "We have lost a gifted young officer and friend who was a leading light of the unit and will be sadly missed. Most importantly our thoughts are with his family and many friends at this difficult time."
2nd Lieutenant Ralph Johnson, of the Household Cavalry Regiment, was single, and lived in Windsor. He joined the Life Guards in August 2005 and the MoD said he had established himself as "a first class Troop Leader who led from the front".
"With his death the Household Cavalry Regiment has suffered the loss of an exemplary young officer and our thoughts and prayers go out to his family and friends," said Lieutenant Colonel Smyth-Osbourne.
A total of 16 British soldiers have now died in Afghanistan — nine of them since the deployment in April of 3,500 British troops to Helmand, the country’s main opium producing region.
The ambush yesterday happened at about 7.30am local time as British forces launched an assault against the Taleban that included Apache helicopters and Harrier jets, military officials said.
They were attacked while engaged in a large-scale operation to relieve a group of paratroopers who had faced daily attacks.
However, at the start of the operation, two British army vehicles, a Spartan and a Scimitar, both reconnaissance vehicles with enhanced armour, were hit by the Taleban.
The Spartan, containing the three soldiers who died, was blown up and the Scimitar severely damaged. A fourth soldier was seriously wounded and taken to a military hospital. His condition was described as critical.
British forces returned fire and killed several Taleban during a prolonged gunfight, although casualties on their side have yet to be confirmed. Brigadier Ed Butler, commander of British forces in Afghanistan, said: "On every occasion that we’ve come up against the Taleban, we’ve defeated him and we will continue to do so."
Speaking today, Britain's most senior military officer Air Chief Sir Jock Stirrup, the Chief of Defence Staff, said it was no surprise that the Afghan campaign was costing lives.
He said had not expected the operation in Afghanistan to be easy and that the loss of life was a sad but inevitable consequence of using military force.
But despite the losses, on what was the bloodiest day for British forces since deployment to the region, he said he would not hesitate to send more troops to the country if commanders on the ground felt it was necessary.
"It is turning out pretty much the way we foresaw," he said.
"I know some people claim that we said this was going to be easy; I certainly never said that and I certainly never believed it.
"We knew it was going to be difficult, we knew we were going to take casualties, so there's been no surprise at that. Casualties are always extremely sad and the losses we have just recently suffered, in addition to those that came earlier, are something we all mourn and we all regret.
"And, of course, our thoughts are very much with the families and loved ones of those who died.
"But no matter how much we may regret it, we do take casualties - that's part of the essence of the use of military force."
Isaf’s 10,500 troops had previously operated only in the capital, Kabul, and the relatively stable north and west of the country, while US-led coalition forces had been fighting the insurgency in the south and east.
The soldier killed in Basra, the first to die from a mortar attack on one of the British bases in Basra, was named last night as Corporal Matthew Cornish, 29. He had served in Iraq on two other occasions.
Lieutenant-Colonel Johnny Bowron, commanding officer of the 1st Battalion The Light Infantry, said: "Matthew was a great soldier, a fine friend and a marvellous husband and father."
Corporal Cornish leaves a wife, Abbey, 28, and children Ethan, 3, and one-year-old Libby. Robin Cornish, 60, his father, said: "I have spoken to Abbey and the poor girl is devastated. He lived for his family."
His death brings the total number who have died in Iraq since Operation Telic began in early 2003 to 115, of whom 86 have been killed as a result of hostile fire.
