By Xinhua,
London : British Ministry of Defense said on Tuesday that one British soldier was killed in a firefight in southern Afghanistan.
The soldier from 2nd Battalion the Parachute Regiment was killed on Tuesday morning during a firefight in Helmand province, the ministry said in a statement.
“He was on a deliberate operation against the Taliban in the Upper Sangin Valley when he was fatally wounded,” said the ministry, adding that next of kin had been informed.
The death has brought the number of British soldiers killed in Afghanistan since November 2001 to 107. Currently, Britain has over 7,800 soldiers based in Afghanistan.
Last Monday, when U.S. President George Bush paid his final visit to London before leaving office in January next year, Britain announced that it would send 230 more troops to Afghanistan by spring 2009, taking the number of the troops there to 8,030.