Lance Corporal Allan Douglas, 22 - on his first tour to the region - was hit by sniper fire when his patrol was ambushed by insurgents.

His distraught dad Walter last night said Alan had not wanted to go to Iraq, adding: "He was against the war. He couldn't see the point of it.

"The lives of so manny young men have now been lost - and all for nothing."

Mum Diane added: "He was home just before Christmas. That's the last time we saw him.

"He told me he wasn't looking forward to going to Iraq. He knew himself it wasn't going to be a good one."

Alan, serving with the 1st Battalion The Highlanders, was hit by small arms fire near Al Amarah, in the southern Maysan province. He was the only soldier shot.

The area is one of the most volatile in Iraq. Insurgents killed six Royal Military Policemen there in June 2003.

British troops in Maysan come under fire almost daily and have to dodge booby-traps when they leave camp.

Diane learned of her son's death while she was working at Asda near her home in Aberdeen. She said: "Someone from the Army turned up at the store with a chap we've known for years. I knew right away that something was wrong."

Diane said Alan dreamed of being in the Army from when he was a child.

She added: "It's all he ever wanted to do. As soon as he could he joined the Highlanders. He was so determined."

Allan's regiment was based in Germany and he had seen service in Bosnia and Kosovo. He had been training in Canada before heading to Iraq.

Diane, who was communicating with Alan by email, said he had considered asking for leave to delay his trip to Iraq. She said: "I had a heart attack last year and I was due to go into hospital. Alan was worried and offered to push for leave so he could stay home."

Walter said Allan's sister Donna, 21, was heartbroken by the news.

Defence Secretary John Reid said yesterday: "I was very saddened to hear a British soldier had died whilst performing his duty in Iraq. My thoughts are with his family and friends."

Allan's patrol was operating out of Camp Abu Naji, home to 850 men.

Last week, officers there were talking optimistically about handing back security to the Iraqi police and army.

But Allan's death could now set back their pull-out.

Father: Walter Douglas b abt 1950
Mother; Diane
Sister: Donna

Diane Douglas and Walter Douglas the parents of Corporal Allan Douglas who was killed in Iraq looks a piece of artwork entitled 'Queen and Country' with the face of their son at the National Portrait Gallery on March 18, 2010 in London, England. The piece by the official Iraq artist Steve Mcqueen depicts the faces of soldiers who have fallen in the Iraq Conflict on the face of stamps, which the Art Fund has been campaigning on behalf of the families for the royal mail to officially issue as postage stamps.

Detail of the stamp depicting Allan Douglas