The second group of Tongan soldiers to be deployed to Iraq on peace keeping duty left Fua'amotu Airport this morning, on the first leg of their journey to Baghdad.

The 55 soldiers under the command of Captain Toni Fonokalafi were given an emotional farewell by friends and relatives, before boarding an Air Pacific flight for Fiji. They will fly from Fiji onward to Los Angeles, on and Air New Zealand commercial flight. In the USA the Tongan soldiers will have two-weeks of pre deployment training at Camp Pendleton near Los Angeles before they leave for Kuwuit for another two-weeks of final preparation before they enter Iraq.

There has been controversy in New Zealand over the New Zealand government owned airline, Air New Zealand helping fly Australian soldiers to Iraq. It was reported in the New Zealand media that a spokesman for New Zealand Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters, who was angered by news that Air New Zealand charter flights had been used to carry Australian troops to Iraq, indicated that the Tongan troop flight was different - it was a commercial flight.

Air New Zealand confirmed that United Airlines is a code-share partner on its flight from Auckland to Los Angeles.