British soldier killed in Afghanistan

A British soldier serving in the US-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) has been shot dead while manning a checkpoint in Afghanistan’s southwestern province of Helmand.

The Royal Gurkha Rifles soldier from the regiment’s 2nd Battalion was killed on Saturday during operations with Afghan policemen in the Nahr-e Saraj district of Helmand province, AFP reported.

“Whilst protecting a checkpoint, his team came under insurgent small arms fire, during which he received a fatal gunshot wound,” Task Force Helmand spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Gordon Mackenzie said.

The latest incident brings the death toll to 383 for British soldiers deployed in Afghanistan since October 2001, according to the tally of Agence France-Presse.

Britain has around 9,500 military servicemen in Afghanistan, which is the second largest foreign military force in the country after the contingent of the United States.

According to official figures released by the website icasualties.org, a total of 483 foreign troops have lost their lives in Afghanistan so far this year.

Last year, nonetheless, remains the deadliest year for foreign military casualties with a death toll of 711. The number eclipsed the previous record of 521, set in 2009.

As casualties have risen in Afghanistan, public opinion has begun turning against the war in the United States and other NATO countries.