British soldier dies as bomb factory is found in Helmand

Spokesman for Task Force Helmand, Lieutenant Colonel David Wakefield, said the soldier was on foot patrol crossing a bridge when he was hit by an improvised explosive device (IED).

"His bravery and selfless commitment to his comrades and to this fight will not be forgotten," he added. Next of kin have been informed.

An Ministry of Defence (Mod) spokesman said the latest casualty was not connected to Operation Moshtarak, which has targeted Taliban strongholds in central Helmand.

A total of 276 British troops have died in the Afghan conflict since operations began in 2001.

The bodies of two soldiers killed last week return to Britain today.

Lance Corporal Scott Hardy, 26, from Chelmsford, and Private James Grigg, 21, from Suffolk, both from the 1st Battalion The Royal Anglian Regiment, died on Tuesday north of Musa Qalah.

Confirmation of the latest casualty came as the MoD announced that British troops had made two major seizures of roadside bombs and components for making them.

Soldiers from 1st Battalion The Royal Welsh (Royal Welch Fusiliers) made the deadly discoveries in Nad-e-Ali, central Helmand.

Soldiers went into a compound near the bazaar and uncovered an IED factory.

Just days later troops discovered 260 IEDs, 38 detonators, and 57 weapons varying from anti-tank mines to rocket propelled grenades. Eight kilograms of home-made explosives were underneath piles of dry poppy and fertiliser sacks containing 165 IED components.