British soldier killed in southern Afghanistan

KABUL — Britain's Defense Ministry says a British soldier has been killed in southern Afghanistan.

The ministry said Sunday that the soldier from the 2nd Battalion, The Rifles, was killed in an explosion Saturday near Sangin in central Helmand province.

(enlarge photo) An Afghan police officer stands guard as bicyclists ride past a roadside checkpoint in Kabul, Afghanistan, Saturday, Nov. 7, 2009. Afghanistan's Defense Ministry said Saturday that a NATO air strike in the western province of Badghis mistakenly hit a joint base housing coalition troops and Afghan security forces, killing four Afghan soldiers and three policemen. NATO would not comment on whether an airstrike had taken place. (AP Photo/Gemunu Amarasinghe)

Britain is the largest contributor to NATO forces in Afghanistan after the United States with about 9,000 troops in the country and 500 more committed by the government last month.

The latest death brings the total number of British forces who have died in Afghanistan to 231. Last Tuesday, five soldiers were killed by a rogue Afghan policeman who opened fire on them in Helmand's Nad-e-Ali district. Another soldier was killed in an explosion Thursday in northern Helmand.

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