A MILITARY plane about to bring home Lancashire soldiers from Iraq was almost bombed out of the sky by insurgents.

A hundred troops from the Duke of Lancaster's Regiment left the war-torn country on Wednesday.

But as the soldiers, including men and women from across Lancashire, were waiting to fly from Basra airfield, Iraqi insurgents attacked the British Army contingency operating base with mortars, narrowly missing the Hercules plane flying in to transport them out.

The Army confirmed that the base - where thousands of British soldiers are - was attacked on Wednesday, but said attacks on the base are "not unusual."

The 100 soldiers were returning from the six month peace-keeping tour three months early due to improved conditions and smooth handover of power to native forces.

The troops are now back at their barracks in Osnabruck, Germany, and are due back in England later this month.

Army spokesman Kevin Hegarty confirmed that there was an attack on Wednesday, but said no comment could be made about specific incidents.

He said: "The situation on the ground in Basra is such that from time to time the contingency operating base at Basra airfield does come under attack.

"It's not unusual and every step is taken to try to minimise the effects, and in this case there was no impact at all."