A BRITISH soldier has died after he was seriously injured by an explosion in Afghanistan.
The Ministry of Defence said yesterday that the serviceman from the 2nd Battalion The Parachute Regiment died in Helmand province on Tuesday.
His death comes the day after a Scottish soldier, Sergeant Jonathan Mathews, 35, died from a single gunsh
ot wound in the region.
The soldier who died on Tuesday is the 114th British serviceman to be killed in Afghanistan since operations began in November 2001. He was part of a routine patrol that clashed with Taleban fighters.
The soldier was evacuated to a medical facility after the blast, but did not survive his injuries.
The spokesman for Task Force Helmand, Lieutenant-Colonel David Reynolds, said: "Everyone is affected by the death of a soldier, and the thoughts and sympathies of us all are with the family at this most difficult time."
Sgt Mathews was killed in Helmand province when his party came under Taleban fire. His family said he "died doing what he loved".
He was from The Highlanders, 4th Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland, attached to 1st Battalion the Royal Irish Regiment.
On the day Sgt Mathews was killed, the bodies of Lance- Corporal Kenneth Rowe, 24, from Newcastle, and Corporal Jason Barnes, 25, of Exeter, Devon, were flown into RAF Lyneham, Wiltshire.
The full article contains 231 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
