British soldier killed in Afghanistan

A British soldier with the Nato-led International Security Assistance Force fighting Taliban insurgents was killed Friday while on patrol in southernn Afghanistan, the force said. Another British soldier was wounded in the incident, the British defence ministry said in a statement released here.
The soldiers were part of a patrol checking on a local irrigation project near Jusyalay, northeast of Sangin in volatile Helmand province when they came under fire from Taliban fighters.
"It was during this engagement that two soldiers were injured. An emergency response helicopter was requested, but sadly one of the soldiers was pronounced dead at the scene," the statement said.
"The injuries sustained by the second soldier are not life threatening," it added. The latest death brings to 129 the number of international troops killed this year, according to an AFP count, most of them in action as the Taliban insurgency has intensified. More than 190 were killed last year.