By IRNA,
London : Britain’s Ministry of Defence (MoD) announced Tuesday that another UK soldier had been killed in Afghanistan, the 133rd since the overthrow of the Taliban regime in 2001.
A soldier from 29 Commando Royal Artillery was at a Forward Operating Base in the Gereshk area of Helmand Province when he was wounded as a result of enemy fire.
He was immediately taken by helicopter to the ISAF military hospital at Kandahar but subsequently died of his wounds, the MoD in London said.
His death brings the total number of British fatalities in Afghanistan this year to 47, the highest annual number since British troops were deployed in the country seven years ago.
The number of deaths and serious injuries among British troops in Afghanistan are running at the highest rate than at any time since the conflict began seven years ago.
The latest figures also show that British troops are suffering record casualties in Afghanistan, largely due to attacks from roadside bombs and conventional weapons.
The MoD has categorised 59 soldiers are as seriously or very seriously wounded in the first 11 months of this year, compared with 63 in 2007.
But at least 20 other commandos have been evacuated to Britain in the last 10 days, bringing the total this year to 79, according to defence officials quoted by the Guardian newspaper. In 2006, the number was 31 and just two in 2005.
The list of growing casualties come as Prime Minister Gordon Brown confirmed on Monday that the number of British troops deployed in Afghanistan would be increased by 300 in March to total 8,300.
The reinforcements are from troops already on standby but reports suggest the UK is under pressure from the US to deploy even more, perhaps an extra battlegroup of 1,500 soldiers, during the run-up to the Afghan presidential campaign next autumn.
British MPs are also questioning the government over the soaring costs of the war in Afghanistan with the cost of operations this year running at 54.1 per cent higher or Pnds 2.318 billion (Dlrs 3.5 bn) more than in 2007-08.