UK soldier killed in Afghanistan

The UK death toll in Afghanistan now exceeds that of the Falklands War

A British soldier has been killed by an explosion in Afghanistan, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has said.

The soldier from 36 Engineer Regiment, part of the counter-IED Task Force, was killed by an explosion in the Nad-e-Ali district, in central Helmand Province.

The soldier's next of kin were informed following the incident on Monday.

The fatality follows the death of two British soldiers in an explosion on Sunday and means 256 UK personnel have died in Afghanistan since 2001.

It means more British service personnel have now died in this conflict than were killed during the 1982 Falklands War.

Route clearance operation

The conflict in the South Atlantic lasted for just 74 days, and also claimed the lives of more than 600 Argentine military personnel and three civilians from the islands.

Lieutenant Colonel David Wakefield, spokesman for Task Force Helmand, praised the "indomitable courage and fortitude" of the latest soldier killed, who died as he led a team conducting route clearance operations.

L/Col Wakefield went on: "He was leading a team conducting route clearance operations at the time, making the way ahead safe for others to follow."

The two soldiers who died following the incident on Sunday were from The Royal Scots Borderers, 1st Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland.

They had been on patrol near Sangin, in Helmand province.

'Overwhelming force'

The MoD would not confirm whether the latest soldier to die was involved in Operation Moshtarak, a major Nato-led offensive against the Taliban which is due to get under way shortly.

It is expected to be one of the largest counter-insurgency operations since the Afghan conflict began in 2001 and aims to clear fighters from the southern Helmand town of Marjah.

Military leaders say they will have the choice between laying down their weapons or facing "overwhelming force" from thousands of UK, US and Afghan troops.

The head of the British army, Gen Sir David Richards, has said the aim of Operation Moshtarak was to flush out the remaining pockets of Taliban resistance in Helmand province.

"The aim is to clear them from their bomb-making factories and allow us to ensure we can provide that greater cloak of security to the vast majority of people in Helmand who don't actually want the Taliban to rule them again," he said.