9:51 a.m. - FARGO, N.D. (AP) - An Air National Guard wing here will deploy 13 of its airmen on Thursday to serve in Iraq.

Air Guard spokesman Master Sgt. Dave Somdahl said the airmen volunteered for security duty at Ali Base in southeastern Iraq. They will be in Iraq within a few days, he said.

The airmen are expected to be deployed for about six months, Somdahl said.

More than 100 members of Fargo's 119th Fighter Wing, known as the Happy Hooligans, have been deployed overseas since the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on the U.S., he said.

About 1,000 airmen are members of Fargo's Air National Guard, Somdahl said.