Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Hundreds of UK troops to protect Iraq from IS threat
HUNDREDS more UK troops are being sent to Iraq with a 4,000 strong NATO force to bolster security against Islamic State and the threat from Iran.
The UK force will help train local Iraqi troops and police.
Islamic State is on the rise again. And this week dozens of British troops based in Erbil, northern
SUPPORT Ben Wallace
Iraq, were forced to take cover from a barrage of rockets fired at a US base by a Shia militia called Guardians of Blood. At a two-day NATO conference, Defence Secretary Ben Wallace agreed to increase troops in Iraq from around 400 to closer to 1,000.
Mr Wallace also underlined Britain’s support for the Afghan government against Taliban attacks. Around 1,000 UK troops are in Afghanistan.
He said: “Our commitment to NATO is at the heart of this approach.”
JAMIE Dornan has spoken out about reports he may appear in the next series of Derry Girls.
The Co Down star revealed he has been in touch with writer Lisa Mcgee recently and admits he’s a “big fan” of the show.
Speaking to Vulture, Jamie said it’s logistics which seem to be holding up his chances of starring in the Channel 4 hit which went global on Netflix.
He added: “I know Lisa Mcgee, we emailed today about something actually.
“We’d talked about trying to get me to do something and it just never worked out with locations and when they shoot and I’m always away.
“I like the idea of popping up in that show, and I think it’s genius, and it makes me so proud.
“When I first heard about a show called Derry Girls, I thought, ‘How is anyone outside of Ireland going to understand the colloquialism of it?’
“But it goes to show it’s transcended everything.
“You never know, but it takes everything aligning with schedules.”