'Selfless' British soldier killed in Afghanistan

A BRITISH soldier has been shot dead in Afghanistan, the Ministry of Defence said yesterday. The soldier was from the Queen's Gurkha Engineers, serving with 21 Engineer Regiment. He was killed during small arms fire in Nad-e Ali District of Helmand province.

Lieutenant Colonel David Southall of Task Force Helmand said: "Selfless to the end, he gave his life while supporting others"

The latest fatality comes after two British soldiers serving in Afghanistan died in separate incidents.

The first, from 1st Battalion The Mercian Regiment, was injured after a helicopter crashed at a patrol base in the Nahr-e Saraj district of Helmand province on Tuesday. He was flown back to hospital in Birmingham where he died on Thursday. The second, Darren Foster, 20, from Whitehaven in Cumbria, of 21 Engineer Regiment, died on Friday after being shot in the Sangin district of Helmand.

Another soldier, Lieutenant John Sanderson, 29, from 1st Battalion The Mercian Regiment (Cheshire), died in Queen Elizabeth Hospital on Wednesday after being wounded in Nahr-e Saraj on 13 July.