Soldier killed in Afghanistan blast

The serviceman, from 1st Battalion The Coldstream Guards, died in an explosion near Camp Bastion in Helmand Province on Thursday morning.

His family have been informed, the MoD said.

Lieutenant Colonel David Wakefield, spokesman for Task Force Helmand, said: "He was one of us, one of our own, and we will remember him."

The soldier's death takes the number of British troops who have died in the Afghan conflict since operations began eight years ago to 221.

The latest casualty was the second British serviceman to be killed in explosions close to the UK's main base in southern Afghanistan this month.

Senior Aircraftsman Marcin Wojtak was killed seven days earlier, on October 1.

The 24-year-old airman, from 34 Squadron Royal Air Force Regiment, was caught in a blast while patrolling close to the perimeter of Camp Bastion.

An MoD spokesman said it was too early to say if the explosives planted close to the camp signalled a change of tactics by insurgents.

He said the circumstances of the latest death are still under investigation.