The Ecumenical celebration will be led by the Bishop of Motherwell, the Rt Rev Dr Joseph Devine and held at Motherwell Cathedral next month.

Representatives from the Church of Scotland, the Scottish Episcopal Church, and the Jewish and Muslim faiths will also take part in the service.

Mgr Richard Moth, who is to be ordained as the next Roman Catholic Bishop of the Armed Forces will also attend.

The announcement came just days after the bodies of two Scottish soldiers killed in Afghanistan were returned to Britain.

Private Kevin Elliott, 24, from Dundee, and Sergeant Stuart Millar, 40, from Inverness of The Black Watch, 3rd Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland, died in an explosion in Lashkar Gah District, southern Helmand, last Monday.

Them two men were killed in a blast believed to have been caused by a rocket-propelled grenade.

Their deaths took the number of British military personnel killed in the country since the occupation began in 2001 to 210 - but two more soldiers have since been killed while fighting there.

Bishop Devine said he hoped the special service would be "an honourable and fitting tribute for the fallen and a comfort and blessing for the wounded".

"As I watch the news and witness the heart-breaking procession of coffins returning to the UK I wonder what I can do to help alleviate the suffering of so many, including those soldiers who are and will remain cruelly wounded in body and mind," he said.

"Nor should we forget those young people currently serving and those who will be called upon in the future.

"Over the past year I have made several public statements appealing for respect and kindness to be shown towards our courageous men and women in the Armed Forces. Whatever one may think of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the soldiers are not responsible for the decisions made to go to war.

"Sadly, however, the young servicemen and women are paying the ultimate price for our engagement in those countries. Their families and friends also have to bear a terrible suffering.

"Our Ecumenical Service of Commemoration is especially a Service of Prayer and Reflection by the people. We will endeavour to make this occasion an honourable and fitting tribute for the fallen and a comfort and blessing for the wounded and their families and for those still serving in hostile environments."

The service will take place in Motherwell Cathedral on Thursday, October 29.