absense without leave

More than 17,000 episodes of troops going Awol since 2003

British soldiers have gone on the run from their posts on more than 17,000 occasions since the start of the Iraq war, The Independent can reveal.

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At least 1,000 UK soldiers desert

More than 1,000 members of the British military have deserted since the start of the Iraq war, the BBC has learned.

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