A British soldier was killed in an explosion while checking for mines in Afghanistan, the British Ministry of Defence said today.
A spokesman said the soldier, from 4th Battalion the Parachute Regiment, was killed as he got out of his vehicle in the Upper Sangin Valley yesterday afternoon.
No one else was injured and next of kin has been informed.
The latest death takes to 108 the number of British service personnel who have lost their lives since the start of operations in Afghanistan in November 2001.
Four soldiers were killed when a roadside bomb tore through their vehicle last Tuesday, including Corporal Sarah Bryant, 26, of the Intelligence Corps, the first British woman to die on active service in Afghanistan.
The latest death came as the head of the armed forces warned that building up Afghanistan from its present "medieval status" will take decades.
The Chief of the Defence Staff, Air Chief Marshal Sir Jock Stirrup, said that while the military would need to be in the country for "some years", the civilian reconstruction effort will take much longer.
PA