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The Governments top lawyer is reportedly seeking to block a bid to prosecute Tony Blair over the Iraq war.Tory MP Jeremy Wright QC, the Attorney General, has formally asked to join hearings to oppose such a move against the former prime minister, The Guardian reports.

The newspaper said the intervention follows a ruling that Mr Blair had immunity from the attempt to bring a criminal charge against him on the issue, and that pursuing a prosecution could involve details being disclosed under the Official Secrets Act.

The private prosecution is in relation to the 2003 invasion of Iraq and reportedly seeksthe trial of Mr Blair, then foreign secretary Jack Straw, and the attorney general at the time, Lord Goldsmith.

It seekstheir conviction for the crime of "aggression" and is based on the findings of the Chilcot report into the war.

Tony Blair says the people must 'rise up' against Brexit

The newspaper said it had seen legal documents showing Mr Wright has formally asked to join future hearings and for the attempt to prosecute Blair and his top aides to be rejected.

The Attorney General is said to claimthe case is hopeless because the crime of aggression does not exist in English law, even though it does exist in international law.

However, the newspaper quoted a 2003 memo from Lord Goldsmith stating: Aggression is a crime under customary international law which automatically forms part of domestic law.

A spokeswoman for the Attorney General would not saywhether Mr Wright would oppose the attempted prosecution, but told The Press Association: He is seeking to intervene in this case because it raises issues about the scope of criminal law.

She added: It is not unusual for the Attorney General to intervene in these sort of cases in order to represent the public interest.

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Attorney General 'intervenes to block prosecution of Tony Blair over Iraq war' - The Independent

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A CH-146 Griffon helicopter prepares to land near Erbil, Iraq, on March 2, 2017. The helicopter is part Joint Task Force-Iraqs Tactical Aviation Detachment, Operation IMPACT.

A tactical helicopter squadron based in Edmonton departed for northern Iraq on Monday.

Sixty members of the Royal Canadian Air Forces (CAF) 408 Tactical Helicopter Squadron, based at the 3rd Canadian Division Support Base in Edmonton, are assuming duties to fight ISISas part of Operation IMPACT.

READ MORE:Canadian troops in Iraq mount pressure on ISIS around Syrian border

Squadron members will fly and maintain up to four CH-146 Griffon helicopters, which provide tactical transport for Canadian troops and material near Erbil, Iraq.

We provide air power that integrates with and supports our CAF and coalition partners. The tactical helicopter detachment is a crucial component of this commitment, Major-General Christian Drouin, Commander 1 Canadian Air Division, said.

430 Squadron has done a tremendous job over the past few months, maintaining a level of excellence that I know 408 Squadron will continue.

READ MORE:Canadian special forces taking more active role in Iraq as Liberals extend ISIS mission

The CH-146 Griffon helicopters have an array of self-defence systems.

2017Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

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Edmonton-based Royal Canadian Air Force squadron deployed to Iraq - Globalnews.ca

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Rev. Graham: Qaraqosh, Iraq Had 50000 Christians in 2014, Now 7 Families Remain CNSNews.com (blog) During his recent trip to Iraq to celebrate Easter, Reverend Franklin Graham visited the city of Qaraqosh, where in 2014 some 50,000 Christians were forced to flee because of attacks from the Islamic State and where today only about 7 families remain. In Iraq Christians mark first post-IS Easter in recaptured townPulse Nigeria Iraq's Assyrian Catholic Church Celebrates First Easter Mass Since 2014AINA (press release) all 10 news articles »

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Rev. Graham: Qaraqosh, Iraq Had 50000 Christians in 2014, Now 7 Families Remain - CNSNews.com (blog)

SOUTHWEST ASIA, April 15, 2017 U.S. and coalition military forces continued to attack the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, conducting 12 strikes consisting of 55 engagements against ISIS targets yesterday, Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve officials reported today.

Officials reported details of yesterdays strikes, noting that assessments of results are based on initial reports.

Strikes in Syria

In Syria, coalition military forces conducted seven strikes consisting of 10 engagements against ISIS targets:

-- Near Abu Kamal, a strike damaged an ISIS fuel facility.

-- Near Dayr Az Zawr, a strike damaged an ISIS fuel facility.

-- Near Raqqa, three strikes engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed three fighting positions and a weapons cache.

-- Near Shadaddi, a strike destroyed an ISIS-held building

-- Near Tabqa, a strike suppressed an ISIS tactical unit.

Strikes in Iraq

In Iraq, coalition military forces conducted five strikes consisting of 46 engagements against ISIS targets, coordinated with and in support of Iraqs government:

-- Near Mosul, five strikes engaged an ISIS tactical unit, destroyed two rocket-propelled grenade systems and two fighting positions, damaged four supply routes and a fighting position, and suppressed an ISIS tactical unit.

Part of Operation Inherent Resolve

These strikes were conducted as part of Operation Inherent Resolve, the operation to destroy ISIS in Iraq and Syria. The destruction of ISIS targets in Iraq and Syria also further limits the group's ability to project terror and conduct external operations throughout the region and the rest of the world, task force officials said.

The list above contains all strikes conducted by fighter, attack, bomber, rotary-wing or remotely piloted aircraft; rocket-propelled artillery; and some ground-based tactical artillery when fired on planned targets, officials noted.

Ground-based artillery fired in counterfire or in fire support to maneuver roles is not classified as a strike, they added. A strike, as defined by the coalition, refers to one or more kinetic engagements that occur in roughly the same geographic location to produce a single or cumulative effect. For example, task force officials explained, a single aircraft delivering a single weapon against a lone ISIS vehicle is one strike, but so is multiple aircraft delivering dozens of weapons against a group of ISIS-held buildings and weapon systems in a compound, having the cumulative effect of making that facility harder or impossible to use. Strike assessments are based on initial reports and may be refined, officials said.

The task force does not report the number or type of aircraft employed in a strike, the number of munitions dropped in each strike, or the number of individual munition impact points against a target.

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Officials Release Details of Latest Strikes Against ISIS Terrorists in Syria, Iraq - Department of Defense

About eight months later, Army Spc. Erik W. Hayes would have been home.

Instead, Hayes, who grew up in Thurmont and Harney, was killed on Nov. 29, 2004, when an improvised explosive device exploded near his vehicle in Miqdadiyah, Iraq. He was 24.

On Saturday, friends, family and others gathered to honor him at the dedication of a sign on a bridge running over the Monocacy River on Md. 140, outside Emmitsburg.

After the ceremony, Daniel Hopson of Oklahoma, who served with Hayes in the Army in Iraq, remembered his friend as quiet and humble.

Erik was not a social butterfly, Hopson said.

But he was reliable and mature for his age, the kind of soldier who would volunteer to do something because it had to be done, he said.

Speaking at the ceremony, Hopson remembered sitting on the roof of an Iraqi police station with Hayes on the day he died.

Hopson asked where he would go on vacation if he could go anywhere in the world.

Hayes said he would go home and work several jobs to help take care of his brother, Bradley, who had been seriously injured in a car crash several years earlier.

The members of the platoon loved Hayes, Hopson said.

The love that all of us had for him, I cant even express it, he said.

Hayes graduated in 1998 from Living Word Academy in Blue Ridge Summit, Pennsylvania.

When he died, The News-Post reported that he had enlisted in the Army five days before the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

Timothy Grossman, who also served with Hayes, remembered his friends generosity, his easy way of speaking, and his wisdom that seemed far beyond his 24 years.

Grossman said he was grateful to see the crowd at the event.

We must do this for him, Grossman said.

About 100 people came to the State Highway Administration property near the bridge, which carries Md. 140 over the river between Emmitsburg and Taneytown in Carroll County.

After the ceremony, Hayes mother, Debora Reckley, said it meant a lot that so many people came out to honor her son, many years after he died.

Frederick County Executive Jan Gardner spoke at the ceremony, along with County Council President Bud Otis, Delegate William Folden, and several county commissioners from Carroll County. Councilman Kirby Delauter was the master of ceremonies.

Folden is an Army veteran and sponsored a bill, which was signed in 2015, that allows families to ask the states Department of Transportation to name structures after their loved ones.

It was the first bill he filed after arriving in Annapolis, Folden said, and was intended to help remember both people who have served and the families left behind.

This bill is about honoring them. Honor them every day, he told the crowd.

As the ceremony was wrapping up, officials unveiled the brown sign with white lettering that notes Hayes name, his service in Iraq, and the date of his death.

His father, Douglas Hayes, said Erik had spent almost four years in the Army, and had about eight months left on his tour when he was killed.

Hayes said the sign was a good way to honor his son.

That will be Eriks bridge now, he said.

Follow Ryan Marshall on Twitter: @RMarshallFNP.

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Thirteen years after Frederick County soldier's death in Iraq, a bridge bears his name - Frederick News Post (subscription)