LONDON (Reuters) -- A British soldier was killed in a Taliban bomb attack in southern Afghanistan on New Year's Day,
the Ministry of Defense said.
The soldier, from the 6th Battalion of The Rifles, was killed by an explosion while on patrol in Helmand, a province of southern Afghanistan that is a focus of the Taliban-led insurgency, the ministry said in a statement.
The death brings to 138 the number of British troops to have been killed in Afghanistan since the U.S.-led invasion to topple the Taliban was launched in late 2001.
Three British soldiers have been killed in the past eight days.
Britain has around 8,000 troops based in Afghanistan, the vast majority of them deployed in Helmand.
the Ministry of Defense said.
The soldier, from the 6th Battalion of The Rifles, was killed by an explosion while on patrol in Helmand, a province of southern Afghanistan that is a focus of the Taliban-led insurgency, the ministry said in a statement.
The death brings to 138 the number of British troops to have been killed in Afghanistan since the U.S.-led invasion to topple the Taliban was launched in late 2001.
Three British soldiers have been killed in the past eight days.
Britain has around 8,000 troops based in Afghanistan, the vast majority of them deployed in Helmand.