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Afghan death toll level with Iraq
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Another British soldier has been killed in Afghanistan, bringing the total death toll level to that suffered in the Iraq war.
The serviceman, from the 2nd Royal Tank Regiment, died near Nad-e-Ali in Helmand province on Friday morning, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) said.
Ten soldiers have died in 10 days in southern Afghanistan, taking the number of British troops killed since the start of operations in October 2001 to 179.
Lieutenant Colonel Nick Richardson, spokesman for Task Force Helmand, said: "The loss of this brave Tankie has hit us all deeply. We grieve for him at this very sad time.
"Our thoughts and prayers are with his family, friends and colleagues who feel the greatest loss. His loss has not been in vain."
His family has been informed.
Earlier, ministers were accused of putting British forces in Afghanistan at risk through penny-pinching.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown acknowledged it was a "very hard summer" for the troops but insisted the Government's resolution to seeing through the mission was "undiminished".
Meanwhile, a former head of the Armed Forces has accused the Government of putting UK forces at risk and spending the "minimum they could get away with" on defence.
General Lord Guthrie, chief of the defence staff from 1997 to 2001, said commanders on the ground were struggling with too few troops. He told the Daily Mail: "I spoke to an officer the other day who said that the Treasury had affected the operational safety of our soldiers, by preventing an uplift in our numbers."
