Analysis: For the British, a wild west in the east

A Joint Helicopter Force Merlin lands at the Queen's Royal Hussars' desert base in Maysan, Iraq

Stretched along Iran’s border of desert and marshes, Maysan province is a dangerous wilderness that is being used by Iraq’s Shia extremist groups as a testing ground for their latest explosive devices. It is on British patrols – which may soon include Prince Harry – that they are sharpening their deadly skills.

“Maysan is a very useful place for them to develop stuff because it is out in the open,” said Lieutenant-Colonel Richard Nixon-Eckersall, the commanding officer of The Queen’s Royal Lancers. The regiment is responsible for patrolling the province known as Iraq’s “Wild West”, trying to stop Iranian smugglers bringing weapons across the border.

Read the rest at the Times of London