The soldier was killed and another Briton was seriously wounded. One rebel also died in the firefight.
He is the 22nd UK soldier to die in Afghanistan since the US-led Coalition invaded the country in 2001.
This summer about 4,000 British troops redeployed to Helmand province in the dangerous south of the country as part of a NATO peacekeeping force.
Fifteen UK soldiers have died since June.
3 comments:
Why don't Tony Blairs sons/daughters join up and fight for what their Dad believes in ?
According to the news 14 British soldiers died yesterday in Afghanistan. :(
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Fourteen UK soldiers die in plane crash in Afghanistan
MIL-AFGHANISTAN-PLANE-CRASH
Fourteen UK soldiers die in plane crash in Afghanistan
KABUL, Sept 2 (KUNA) -- Fourteen soldiers were confirmed dead aboard a NATO aircraft that crashed in Afghanistan's southern province of Kandahar on Saturday.
NATO spokesman at the Kandahar airfield Scott Lundy confirmed the coming down of the plane but did not give information about the casualties. However, the British defence ministry said 14 of its soldiers were killed in the Saturday crash in Afghanistan.
Although NATO officials in Afghanistan are tight-lipped about the casualties, they said no enemy fire was involved in downing of the plane. The plane was crashed the day when NATO forces launched a major anti-Taliban operation in two districts of the province.
The districts of Panjwayee and Zerai are volatile for the past two months and the plane was crashed close to one of the two districts - Zerai. Earlier, the NATO spokesman said the aircraft came down between Kandahar and Zerai.
The statement released by the British defence ministry termed the accident dreadful and a shocking news. Scot Lundy said the aircraft was supporting NATO mission in the area.
The defence ministry said the soldiers died in Saturday crash included 12 Royal Air Force personnel, a Royal Marine and an army soldier.
Meanwhile, a statement released by the International Security Assistance Force said some technical problem was reported before the going down of the plane. Two days back, a Dutch F-16 jet fighter was crashed in another province, Ghazni. Pilot of the aircraft was killed in the accident.
With the death of the 14 soldiers, the number of British soldiers died in Afghanistan since 2001, has reached 36. Some 3,000 British troops have taken charge of security in Afghanistan's Helmand province about two months back. They are operating under the command of the multinational NATO alliance. A British soldier was killed and another injured when they were attacked by Taliban on Friday. (end) gk.
Those Nimrod aircraft are very bloody old aircraft, the RAF have the newer AWACS early warning systems planes operational.
Also, why did that plane fly all the way from RAF Kinloss in Scotland ?
Surely, RAF bases such as Akrotiri in Cyprus would have been much nearer to their planned job.
I am reading obsolete equipment here.
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