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4 July 2011
Last updated at 07:24 ET
A British soldier has gone missing in southern Afghanistan, the Ministry of Defence has confirmed.
A massive search involving aircraft and ground troops has been launched after he went missing from his base in central Helmand.
He had left the base alone in the early hours of Monday morning, a move which is described as "highly unusual".
The soldier's next of kin have been informed. The Taliban has told the BBC it has killed a soldier in the area.
The BBC's Quentin Sommerville in Kabul said a local Taliban fighter told the BBC that insurgents had captured a foreign soldier in the vicinity and after a firefight the solider was killed.
But our correspondent said the Taliban often made exaggerated claims.
The international mission in Afghanistan, Isaf, said it was unable to confirm that any gun battle took place.
It said it was attempting to find the missing soldier as quickly as possible.
The MoD said in a statement: "The Ministry of Defence can confirm that a British serviceman is missing in Afghanistan. An extensive operation to locate him is under way."
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A massive search involving aircraft and ground troops has been launched after he went missing from his base in central Helmand.
He had left the base alone in the early hours of Monday morning, a move which is described as "highly unusual".
The soldier's next of kin have been informed. The Taliban has told the BBC it has killed a soldier in the area.
The BBC's Quentin Sommerville in Kabul said a local Taliban fighter told the BBC that insurgents had captured a foreign soldier in the vicinity and after a firefight the solider was killed.
But our correspondent said the Taliban often made exaggerated claims.
The international mission in Afghanistan, Isaf, said it was unable to confirm that any gun battle took place.
It said it was attempting to find the missing soldier as quickly as possible.
The MoD said in a statement: "The Ministry of Defence can confirm that a British serviceman is missing in Afghanistan. An extensive operation to locate him is under way."
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