Troops awarded medals for bravery in Afghanistan

LONDON, May 23 (Reuters) A British soldier has been awarded the country's second-highest military medal, the Conspicuous Gallantry Cross, for leading an Afghan army unit in two days of heavy fighting.

Lieutenant Tim Illingworth of the Rifles, then a junior officer, took charge of the unit after its Afghan commander was killed in Garmsir, in the south of Helmand province.

''His inspirational leadership in trying to recover the body of his fallen comrade, an act of high cultural significance, and his bravery over a period of several days was deemed to be well beyond the call of duty,'' the Ministry of Defence said.

He was among more than 70 British troops who received medals today for bravery in Afghanistan last year.

Three Royal Air Force Chinook pilots were awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, and a nursing officer at the field hospital at the British desert base Camp Bastion was given the Associate Royal Red Cross Medal.

A full list of the awards is posted on the MoD website at www.mod.uk.

Britain sent thousands of troops to Helmand province in southern Afghanistan about a year ago with an expanding NATO peacekeeping force. They have seen heavy combat.

Reuters SLD DB2031