THE mother of an East Yorkshire man killed in Iraq believes Britain should not be dragged into another war.
It emerged yesterday that soldiers from 2nd Battalion, The Yorkshire Regiment (2 Yorks) had been sent to the besieged Kurdish capital Irbil in Iraq to prepare the ground for a rescue mission.
The infantry unit, which recruits heavily from Hull and the East Riding, spent 24 hours securing the ground ahead of a possible mission to evacuate refugees.
Islamic State (IS) militants are sweeping across northern and central Iraq, taking Mosul and threatening Baghdad and Irbil, while reportedly carrying out atrocities.
Karl Saville, 33, was killed in an explosion during the Iraq war, on May 7, 2006, while working as a security guard near Baghdad.
His mother, Gwen Saville, of Hessle, said: "It's best we keep clear of wars in foreign countries.
"It's been eight years now since I lost my son. I am coping OK. My son, Mark, is really supportive.
"But anniversaries and things like this in the news bring it all back."
Prime Minister David Cameron says, despite troops being sent in, Britain will not be getting involved in another war in Iraq.
He said: "We are not going to be putting boots on the ground.
"We are not going to be sending in the British Army."
His assertions seem at odds with rhetoric from Defence Secretary Michael Fallon, who earlier warned the UK could be involved in military missions in Iraq for "weeks and months" to come.
Mr Fallon told personnel on a visit to RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus, where 2 YORKS are currently based, that the UK's role had expanded beyond the original humanitarian mission.
He told service members: "There may well now be, in the next few weeks and months, other ways that we may need to help save life and protect people and we are going to need all of you again and the surveillance you are able to give us.
"This is not simply a humanitarian mission. We and other countries in Europe are determined to do what we can to help the government of Iraq combat this new and very extreme form of terrorism."
RAF aircraft are conducting missions to gather intelligence about movements of Islamic State militants.
Mr Fallon confirmed the UK had already transported ammunition and arms supplied by other countries to resupply Kurdish forces.
2nd Battalion is the Army's "theatre reserve battalion". Traditionally, this back-up force, which works on a rotation basis, has been used to bolster numbers in Afghanistan during flare-ups.
However, it stands ready to deploy anywhere in the Middle East at short notice.
Last year, The Yorkshire Regiment's 1st Battalion became the 2nd Battalion.
Prior to 2006, it was the Prince of Wales's Own Regiment of Yorkshire.
The battalion deployed for a six-month tour of duty in 2010-11. It also served in Iraq in 2006-2007.
Private Luke Simpson, 21, of Howden, was killed near Basra, Iraq, on February 9, 2007, when his armoured Snatch Land Rover was hit by a roadside bomb.
