Woman officer killed in Helmand
Tributes to British soldiers
Published:
THE first British woman has been killed while serving in Afghanistan – by a blast that also claimed the lives of three other soldiers.
They were taking part in an operation in Helmand Province when their vehicle was caught in an explosion.
The news came as Prince Harry took part today in a memorial to troops who fell during his tour of Afghanistan.
The 23-year-old Household Cavalry officer joined 200 servicemen and women on Edinburgh’s historic Royal Mile ahead of a service at the city’s St Giles’ Cathedral.
Today’s event was held to pay tribute to the 24 British, Danish, American and Czech soldiers who lost their lives during the deployment of the 52 Infantry Brigade in Helmand Province from October to April.
Three of the soldiers were killed in the latest blast, while the fourth was pronounced dead on arrival at Camp Bastion, the Ministry of Defence said.
A fifth soldier wounded in the attack was said to be in a stable condition.
It was understood that the woman was serving with the Army’s Intelligence Corps.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown expressed his “deepest condolences” to the families of the four soldiers.
He said: “They were in the most dangerous of jobs in the most difficult of circumstances.
“I salute not just their bravery, dedication and professionalism but that of all our armed forces. Our troops are the best in the world and fighting for the noblest of causes.”
Nine British soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan in nine days – marking a sharp upturn in violence against troops in the troubled country.
Five soldiers from 2 Para, based in Colchester, Essex, died in two separate incidents last week.
By contrast, the total death toll for UK forces between January and May was 11.
The latest incident was the biggest single loss of life for British troops since September 2006, when 14 personnel were killed when an RAF Nimrod from Kinloss came down near Kandahar.
The deaths take the number of British service personnel who have died in Afghanistan since the start of operations in November 2001 to 106.
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