One British soldier was killed and another badly wounded in an attack by guerrillas in southern Afghanistan on Friday, the British defence ministry said. The soldier, whose name was not released, is the seventh British soldier killed in fighting in Helmand province since the beginning of August.
Britain has faced unexpectedly fierce resistance from Taliban fighters since sending the first large foreign force to Helmand this year as part of an expanding Nato peacekeeping mission.
A senior British commander said last week that Britain's Nato troops in southern Afghanistan were pulling back from mountain redoubts to focus on safeguarding reconstruction in lowland valleys.