Afternoon:
12°c
UK soldier killed in Helmand blast
08.11.09
- Safety check for flood area bridges
- Death of canoeist in flooded river
- Iraq war's 'appalling' MoD failures
- Row over Remembrance Day photo-ops
- Mutilated murder probe: Man charged
- 10 pregnant servicewomen sent home
- Poll boost for Brown as Tories drop
- NHS to offer 'marriage counselling'
- Most say no to maternity cutbacks
- Jackson's glove sold for £212,000
A British soldier has been killed by an explosion in southern Afghanistan, the Ministry of Defence said.
The serviceman, from the 2nd Battalion, The Rifles, who was serving with the 4th Battalion, The Rifles, died following a blast near Sangin, in central Helmand Province, on Saturday afternoon.
Spokesman for Task Force Helmand, Lieutenant Colonel David Wakefield, said: "It is my sad duty to inform you that a soldier from The Rifles was killed today in an explosion near Sangin, in Helmand Province.
"He died a soldier, doing his duty and among his fellow soldiers. He will not be forgotten."
The soldier's family have been informed.
The death, on the eve of Remembrance Day, took the number of British troops who have died in Afghanistan since the mission began in October 2001 to 231.
Of those, 200 were killed as a result of hostile action, the Ministry of Defence said.
The remaining 31 have died from illness, non-combat injuries or accidents, or a cause of death has not been determined.
