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UK soldier shot dead in Afghanistan

06 March 2010 20:48 (UTC +04:00)

Baku â€“ APA. A British soldier has been killed following a firefight in southern Afghanistan, the Ministry of Defence said, APA reports citing UK media.

The serviceman from 3rd Battalion The Rifles died after being shot during a battle with insurgents on Saturday morning near Sangin in Helmand Province.

The death comes a day after another member of 3 Rifles was killed in a bomb blast in the region. Next of kin have been informed in both cases.

Neither incident was linked to the ongoing Moshtarak operation.

The latest death coincided with a visit to the country by Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

Commenting on the latest casualty, Lieutenant Colonel David Wakefield, spokesman for Task Force Helmand, said: "It is with deep sadness I have to inform you that a British soldier from 3 Rifles lost his life (on Saturday) morning as a result of small arms fire.

"He was on a deliberate operation against insurgents to the south of Sangin District Centre, near Patrol Base Suffolk, when he was shot.

"He died boldly taking the fight to the enemy and will not be forgotten."

The latest deaths take the number of British casualties since fighting began in Afghanistan in 2001 to 270.

It is the third fatality to hit 3 Rifles over the last week. On Tuesday Corporal Richard Green, 23, from Reading, was shot dead while at a checkpoint near Sangin.