Explosion kills UK female soldier

A UK soldier has died in hospital from injuries received in an explosion while clearing roadside bombs in Helmand province, Afghanistan.

The soldier, from 11 Explosive Ordnance Disposal Regiment, Royal Logistic Corps, died on Tuesday at the Queen Elizabeth NHS Hospital in Birmingham.

The soldier was clearing roadside bombs from Nahr-e Saraj district.

The soldier died despite surgery and evacuation from Camp Bastion to the UK. Next of kin have been told.

Lieutenant Colonel Tim Purbrick said: “The soldier was neutralising a complex set of IEDs which had been sown in an alleyway between two compounds when one of the devices detonated.”

The death takes the number of British military personnel killed in Afghanistan since 2001 to 364.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.