British soldier killed in Afghanistan attack: ministry

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British soldier killed in Afghanistan attack: ministry

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A British soldier from the 1st Battalion was shot dead in an insurgent attack in Afghanistan.

28 January,2012 04:35 am

A British soldier was shot dead Friday in an insurgent attack in Afghanistan, becoming the 397th serviceperson to die since the military mission there started in 2001, the defence ministry said.The soldier from the 1st Battalion The Yorkshire Regiment was killed during a foot patrol in the Nahr-e Saraj district in Helmand Province, Task Force Helmand spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Gordon Mackenzie said.His next of kin have been informed, the ministry said in a statement.Of the 397 British troops who have died in Afghanistan in the past 11 years, 352 were killed in combat.Britain has some 9,500 troops in Afghanistan, mainly based in Helmand where they are battling a Taliban insurgency. Britain intends to pull out all its combat troops by 2015.