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18 July 2011
Last updated at 13:33 ET
A British soldier has been killed in an explosion in Afghanistan, the Ministry of Defence has announced.
In a statement, the MoD said the soldier from 1st Battalion The Rifles died in the Nahr-e Saraj district of Helmand province.
The soldier was escorting a specialist team to recover a cache of Improvised Explosive Device (IED) components when he was killed by the explosion of another device nearby.
Next of kin have been informed.
The soldier's death takes the number of British military deaths in operations in Afghanistan since 2001 to 377.
Task Force Helmand statement Task Force Helmand spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Tim Purbrick said: "It is with much regret that I have to inform you of the death of a soldier from 1st Battalion The Rifles near Jamal Kalay in the Nahr-e Saraj district of Helmand Province.
"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.
"As he led the specialist counter-improvised explosive device team to rendezvous with another patrol at the start of the operation, the soldier was fatally injured in an explosion. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends."
The Ministry of Defence earlier named a soldier killed in Afghanistan on Saturday as 24-year-old L/CPL Paul Watkins.
The Brigade Advisory Group member was on a patrol with Afghan soldiers in the Nahr-e Saraj district of Helmand province when his team was fired on.
An investigation has been launched into his death after reports he was shot by a man dressed in an Afghan national army uniform.
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In a statement, the MoD said the soldier from 1st Battalion The Rifles died in the Nahr-e Saraj district of Helmand province.
The soldier was escorting a specialist team to recover a cache of Improvised Explosive Device (IED) components when he was killed by the explosion of another device nearby.
Next of kin have been informed.
The soldier's death takes the number of British military deaths in operations in Afghanistan since 2001 to 377.
Task Force Helmand statement Task Force Helmand spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Tim Purbrick said: "It is with much regret that I have to inform you of the death of a soldier from 1st Battalion The Rifles near Jamal Kalay in the Nahr-e Saraj district of Helmand Province.
"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.
"As he led the specialist counter-improvised explosive device team to rendezvous with another patrol at the start of the operation, the soldier was fatally injured in an explosion. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends."
The Ministry of Defence earlier named a soldier killed in Afghanistan on Saturday as 24-year-old L/CPL Paul Watkins.
The Brigade Advisory Group member was on a patrol with Afghan soldiers in the Nahr-e Saraj district of Helmand province when his team was fired on.
An investigation has been launched into his death after reports he was shot by a man dressed in an Afghan national army uniform.
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