Six UK soldiers have died in the single worst enemy attack on British troops of their Afghan campaign.
They were on patrol yesterday when their warrior armoured fighting vehicle was caught in an explosion in Helmand province. Five of the servicemen were from the 3rd Battalion the Yorkshire Regiment and one from the 1st Battalion The Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment.
Prime minister David Cameron said: “This is a desperately sad day for our country and desperately sad of course for the families concerned. It is a reminder of the huge price that we are paying for the work we are doing in Afghanistan.”
Labour leader Ed Miliband echoed him: “This is a dark day. We salute all of our fallen and those who continue to serve in the face of the gravest danger.”
More than 400 British service personnel have died since the US-led Afghan invasion in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
Soldiers at the men’s barracks lit candles in their memory yesterday and flags flew at half mast. – (PA)