Soldier killed in base attack

The soldier, from 1st Battalion The Royal Anglian Regiment, was killed during an attack on his patrol base in southern Afghanistan, the Ministry of Defence said.

He was injured when the base, north-east of Sangin in the volatile Helmand Province, came under attack from small arms fire, rocket propelled grenades and indirect fire.

He was taken by helicopter to Camp Bastion, but did not survive. Five other soldiers received minor injuries in the attack, the MoD said. He is the second soldier to be killed in as many days in the country.

Four servicemen have also been killed in Iraq since Monday.

On Friday, Private Tony Rawson, 27, from the 1st Battalion The Royal Anglian Regiment died when his patrol came under fire from Taliban fighters in southern Afghanistan.

Lance Sergeant Chris Casey and Lance Corporal Kirk Redpath, from the 1st Battalion Irish Guards, were killed on Thursday when an improvised explosive device (IED) detonated next to their patrol, which was travelling in a convoy to the north Rumaylah oil fields, west of the southern Iraqi city of Basra.

Leading Aircraftman Martin Beard, 20, of No 1 Squadron Royal Air Force Regiment was shot during a routine foot patrol in the Al Waki district north of the British Base at Basra Airport, southern Iraq on Tuesday night.

And, on Monday, Private Craig Barber, 20, of 2nd Battalion The Royal Welsh, died after coming under attack from small arms fire in the Al Fursi district of Basra.

The latest death brings the total number of British military fatalities in Afghanistan since the start of operations in November 2001 to 70.