By IRNA,
London : A British bomb disposal expert was killed in a gunfight with insurgents in Afghanistan, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) announced Monday.
The solider, attached to the joint force explosive ordnance disposal group, was killed by small arms fire in the Nahr-e-Saraj district of Helmand province on Sunday.
The latest death brings the total the number of British troops to have been killed in Afghanistan since the overthrow of the Taliban regime in 2001 to 309.
Twenty British soldiers have died so far this month and 67 so far this year, more than double the 32 killed during the first half of 2009.
After visiting Afghanistan earlier this month, Prime Minister David Cameron told MPs to expect further casualties when the “so-called fighting season resumes”.
“The current year is the vital one. We are six months into an 18-month military surge and we must now redouble our efforts to drive progress,” Cameron said.