BRITISH troops earmarked for service in central Iraq are heading for an area called the Triangle of Death by US forces who are struggling to impose order amid daily gunbattles with insurgents.

Yesterday the US Marines who are expected to be replaced by the Black Watch repeatedly came under heavy attack from militants. At least a dozen times, the cry of “incoming” went up as mortar rounds whizzed overhead.

The region south of Baghdad, once best known as the site of the ancient city of Babylon, is now notorious for kidnappings, assassinations and beheadings.

Security officials believe that it was in Latifiyah, one of the most feared tribal towns in this region, that Kenneth Bigley was beheaded. Two French journalists disappeared in the same area.

Marine intelligence officers say that Latifiyah is also a well-known dumping ground for bodies as well as a key transit point for guerrilla weapons being shipped from Baghdad to the rebel stronghold of Fallujah 30 miles to the west.

In spite of the dangers, lead elements of a British battle group of 900 soldiers could be heading to the area within days, if the Cabinet approves the Bush Administration’s request for the reinforcements on Thursday.

Yesterday the Government faced angry opposition to the move with some MPs suggesting that it was aimed at helping President Bush with his re-election on November 2. Dennis Skinner, the Labour MP, said that a deployment before the election would be “handing out an oxygen cylinder to President Bush”.

But Geoff Hoon, the Defence Secretary, said that Britain would be failing “in its duty as an ally” if it failed to help. “Were we to refuse the request it would go to the heart of our relationship not only with the US but with other members of the Alliance,” he said.

The American request for British help is intended to free up US combat forces for what is expected to be a big offensive in the coming weeks to capture the insurgent stronghold of Fallujah.

If they do deploy, they would be taking over responsibility for a strategically important area.

On our patrol, despite the almost constant attacks, the Marines did manage to uncover two large caches of explosives in a palm grove next to the ruined ancient city of Sabar. One haul alone yielded 75 120mm rockets, the other scores of mortar rounds and high explosive bullets. The Marine patrol collected the seized weapons and detonated the cache with two huge explosions that lit up sky as darkness fell.

Afterwards our convoy travelled slowly and carefully along dusty tracks close to canals, ever conscious of the danger of bombs planted under the road, eventually returning to the impoverished market town Yusufiyah whose streets reek of sewage and most of whose residents have fled the fighting.

Trying to put a gloss on the destruction around him, one Marine said: “I think we are making a difference, not a great difference, but a difference.”

Since the Marines moved into the town two weeks ago and set up a base outside the smashed police station one of their number has been killed and many more injured.

There is clearly a lot more work for American, or British, troops to do to reimpose order on this unruly area.

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