Queen honours Iraq service personnel
Updated on 09 October 2009
The Queen leads the nation in a service of commemoration to honour the armed forces and civilians who served and died during operations in Iraq.
Leading figures from the worlds of politics and the military have gathered, together with senior royals and Iraq veterans at St Paul's Cathedral for the commemoration service, which formally marks the end of combat operations in the Middle East country.
Servicemen and women injured fighting during the campaign, known as Operation Telic, and the families of those killed in the conflict have also been invited to attend.
Defence Secretary Bob Ainsworth spoke when the event was announced in the summer: "This service will provide an opportunity to remember the enormous contribution made by some 120,000 members of the UK Armed Forces and their civilian colleagues who have served in Iraq over six years.
"In particular it will be a time to remember the ultimate sacrifice made by those who died and who contributed to the greater peace and stability that exists in Iraq today." Senior members of the royal family, including the Duke of Edinburgh and the Prince of Wales, are present, with as well as former Prime Minister Tony Blair.
Dr Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, who has criticised the reasons for launching the Iraq war claiming they were "flawed", gave the address during the service. In April, Britain ended combat operations in Iraq with a sombre remembrance service for the 178 servicemen and women and one civilian Ministry of Defence worker who died during Operation Telic.
The event brought to a close the six-year campaign that began in March 2003.
The government is seeking to learn lessons from the conflict and in July the inquiry into the Iraq war, headed by Sir John Chilcot, was formally launched.
The prime minister was forced to abandon plans for it to sit behind closed doors and not apportion any blame to individuals, amid protests from senior military and political figures.
