British bomb disposal soldier killed in Afghanistan

LONDON, Jan 11 (KUNA) -- A British bomb disposal expert died following an explosion in Afghanistan Monday, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) said tonight.
The soldier was killed as a result of an explosion in the Musa Qaleh area in northern Helmand Province this morning.
His death takes the number of British service personnel who have died since the start of operations in Afghanistan in 2001 to 247.
He was the second British serviceman to die in Afghanistan this year and one of six Nato troops killed in a series of incidents today - the deadliest day for the Nato-led international force in more than two months.
Three US soldiers were killed in a firefight with militants during an "operational patrol" in southern Afghanistan, US military spokesman Colonel Wayne Shanks said.
A French officer was killed during a joint patrol with Afghan troops in Alasay, a valley largely under insurgent control that Nato is trying to reclaim, and the nationality of the sixth soldier, who was killed in eastern Afghanistan, has not yet been released.
The latest British death comes after Private Robert Hayes, 19, of 1st Battalion the Royal Anglian Regiment, was killed by an improvised explosive device while on a foot patrol in the Nad-e-Ali area of Helmand province on January 3.
About three-quarters of the British deaths in Afghanistan last year were thought to have been caused by insurgent improvised explosives.
They strike suddenly and without warning, and British troops have been hit particularly hard because nearly all of them are based in Helmand, a Taliban stronghold and major centre of opium production which is the most dangerous province in the country, commentators said. (end) he.bs KUNA 120018 Jan 10NNNN