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British soldier slain in Afghanistan
Tue Jul 19, 2011 6:24AM GMT
A British soldier has been killed in the southern Helmand province of Afghanistan, bringing to at least 377 the number of British soldiers killed since the beginning of the 2001 US-led war in the Asian country.
The soldier who was from the 1st Battalion The Rifles died in an explosion on Monday in Nahr-e Saraj district of the troubled Helmand province, AFP reported.
"The soldier was part of a foot patrol which had been deployed to assist with the recovery of a cache of improvised explosive device (IED) components," said the spokesman for Task Force Helmand, lieutenant Colonel Tim Purbrick.
The death of the British soldier comes two days after another British serviceman was shot dead while on patrol with Afghan troops in Helmand province.
The British soldier was reportedly gunned down by an Afghan soldier.
As casualties have risen among foreign forces in Afghanistan over the past few months, public opinion has begun turning against the war in the United States and other NATO member states.
At least 319 foreign troops have so far been killed in Afghanistan this year, according to icasualties.org.
London currently has around 9,500 soldiers in war-torn Afghanistan, the biggest contingent after the United States.
British Prime Minister David Cameron has said he will withdraw the British troops from Afghanistan by 2015, once responsibility for security is handed over to Afghan forces.
AO/MMA/HRF
Tue Jul 19, 2011 6:24AM GMT
A British soldier has been killed in the southern Helmand province of Afghanistan, bringing to at least 377 the number of British soldiers killed since the beginning of the 2001 US-led war in the Asian country.
The soldier who was from the 1st Battalion The Rifles died in an explosion on Monday in Nahr-e Saraj district of the troubled Helmand province, AFP reported.
"The soldier was part of a foot patrol which had been deployed to assist with the recovery of a cache of improvised explosive device (IED) components," said the spokesman for Task Force Helmand, lieutenant Colonel Tim Purbrick.
The death of the British soldier comes two days after another British serviceman was shot dead while on patrol with Afghan troops in Helmand province.
The British soldier was reportedly gunned down by an Afghan soldier.
As casualties have risen among foreign forces in Afghanistan over the past few months, public opinion has begun turning against the war in the United States and other NATO member states.
At least 319 foreign troops have so far been killed in Afghanistan this year, according to icasualties.org.
London currently has around 9,500 soldiers in war-torn Afghanistan, the biggest contingent after the United States.
British Prime Minister David Cameron has said he will withdraw the British troops from Afghanistan by 2015, once responsibility for security is handed over to Afghan forces.
AO/MMA/HRF