British soldier killed in Afghanistan attack

A BRITISH soldier has been killed following an insurgent attack in southern Afghanistan.

The soldier, from The Highlanders, 4th Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland (4 Scots), was fatally wounded by insurgent gunfire while on a security patrol in the Lashkar Gah district of Helmand province yesterday.

The soldier's unit was on patrol with the Afghan National Police in the Pupalzay area when it came under attack, the Ministry of Defence said. Lieutenant-Colonel Tim Purbrick, spokesman for Task Force Helmand, said: "The soldier was on a partnered patrol with the Afghan National Police to reassure the local population when his unit came under attack by rifle, rocket-propelled grenade and indirect fire from insurgents, during which he was fatally wounded."

The soldier's death brings the total number of UK military personnel who have died since operations in Afghanistan began in 2001 to 369.