 Captain Jones, from Lincolnshire, died in an attack in Basra |
The bodies of two soldiers who died in Iraq have arrived back in Britain, the Ministry of Defence said. Captain David Jones, 29, from Louth in Lincolnshire and Private Jason Smith, 32, from Hawick, in the Scottish borders, both died while serving in southern Iraq.
Their bodies arrived at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire shortly before 1200 BST on Thursday.
The Normandy Band of the King's Division played as the coffins were ceremonially removed from the plane, a Ministry of Defence spokeswoman said.
Scottish soldier
Captain Jones, who was based at Catterick Garrison with the 1st Battalion, The Queen's Lancashire Regiment, was killed in a bomb attack on a military ambulance in Basra on 14 August.
It is not yet clear how Private Smith died, but the MoD said it was not the result of enemy action.
Private Smith was a member of the Territorial Army attached to 1st Battalion, The King's Own Scottish Borderers in southern Iraq.
The MoD said the coffins were carried by soldiers from the men's regiments, and senior officers also attended.
The government was not represented at the ceremony, the spokeswoman said.
It is the first time no minister has been present when military casualties from the Iraq conflict have been repatriated, she added.
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