KABUL - A British soldier was killed and four wounded in an explosion in an operation against Taleban insurgents in Afghanistan, the BritainÂ’s Ministry of Defence said on Saturday.The soldier -- from the 1st Battalion the Grenadier Guards -- died on Friday evening during a mission to clear a Taleban-occupied compound on the outskirts of Garmser, in Helmand province in southern Afghanistan. The soldier was killed and four wounded when a British force destroyed a Taleban stronghold with artillery, mortar and small arms fire and then began clearing Taleban positions.
“During this phase of the operation there was an explosion ... which resulted in five casualties,” the Ministry of Defence statement said. A ministry spokeswoman said an investigation was under way into what caused the explosion.
Three of the wounded soldiers were seriously hurt and they were evacuated by helicopter to a field hospital at the British desert base Camp Bastion.