British soldier killed in southern Afghanistan
Source: Reuters
(Updates nationalities, adds detail) KABUL, Dec 28 (Reuters) - A British soldier was killed and three others hurt, one of them seriously, after a blast caused their vehicle to crash during a reconnaissance mission in southern Afghanistan, NATO said on Thursday. Britain's Ministry of Defence confirmed those involved in the incident on Wednesday in Garmser in Helmand province were British serving in the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force. "It is too early to say what caused the explosion, but there were no Taliban in the vicinity and there was no follow-on contact," a ministry spokesman said. So far, 43 British soldiers have died in Afghanistan since November, 2001, 22 of them killed in action. More than 160 foreign soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan this year, a year which has seen the worst fighting since the Taliban were ousted by U.S.-led forces in 2001. Most of the fighting has been in the south and east bordering Pakistan, where the Taliban has safe havens. The British defence spokesman said the Taliban had been trying to take Garmser for three months. (Additional reporting by Peter Griffiths and Adrian Croft in London; Reuters Messaging: terry.friel.reuters.com@reuters.net; Kabul newsroom tel: +93-799-335-284))
| AlertNet news is provided by |  |
