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Soldier's body returns

by Sam Lennon

Hundreds of members of the Gurkha community are expected to line the streets tomorrow to honour a fallen comrade.

They will line Wootton Bassett High Street to honour Folkestone-based Rifleman Suraj Gurung, 22, who was killed by a suicide bomber in Afghanistan last Saturday.

Rfn Gurung's repatriated body lands at RAF Lyneham in Wiltshire and by 3.15pm is expected to be driven through the nearby town of Wootton Bassett.

It will then be taken to the Radcliffe Hospital mortuary in Oxford.

Royal British Legion welfare officer David Hughes said: "We expect hundreds of present and former Gurkha soldiers and their families to join others paying their respects."

Rfn Gurung was part of the 1st Battalion the Royal Gurkha Rifles based at Sir John Moore Barracks, Shornecliffe, Folkestone.

He became the 339th member of UK forces killed in Afghanistan since 2001.

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