SOLDIERS from Catterick Garrison have played a part in the rescue of a hostage in their first 24 hours of duty in Iraq.

Regiments which make up 19 Mechanised Brigade - usually based at barracks across North Yorkshire - took over as the security force in Basrah from the Desert Rats last week after two weeks acclimatising to the desert heat in Kuwait.

Just hours after arriving in convoy in southern Iraq, the 1st Battalion The Kings Regiment had joined the 2nd Tank Regiment to help to rescue the female hostage and seize a rocket-propelled grenade from the gang who had been holding her.

Meanwhile, other brigade units recovered a missile launcher and a number of anti-aircraft weapons from other locations around the city. However, despite the incidents and the recent deaths of the six military policemen in the area, military sources describe the situation in Iraq as 'stable.'

Spokesman Major Ian Poole said: "The brigade approach remains firm but fair when dealing with the local population and so far this is paying dividends."

Adjutant for 1st Battalion The Queen's Lancashire Regiment - also currently based at Catterick Garrison - added: "We have met hundreds of locals in our first few days on patrol and only a couple of people have been at all hostile."