This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/uk/8202864.stm
The article has changed 11 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
Version 1 | Version 2 |
---|---|
MoD names latest Afghanistan dead | MoD names latest Afghanistan dead |
(20 minutes later) | |
Three British soldiers killed in an explosion in southern Afghanistan on Thursday have been named by the Ministry of Defence. | Three British soldiers killed in an explosion in southern Afghanistan on Thursday have been named by the Ministry of Defence. |
Rifleman Daniel Wild, 19, from Hartlepool, and Capt Mark Hale were serving with 2nd Battalion The Rifles. | |
They died alongside Lance Bombardier Matthew Hatton, of 40th Regiment Royal Artillery, while on foot patrol near Sangin in Helmand province. | |
It brought the number of UK deaths in Afghanistan since 2001 to 199. | |
'Fearless' | |
Lt Col Rob Thomson MBE of the Rifles Battlegroup described Rifleman Wild as a "fearless" soldier who died while carrying a wounded friend to safety. | |
"He has been fearless and his platoon adored him for it. | |
"He was smaller than most - smaller than everyone, if I am being honest - and when laden appeared to disappear under the extraordinary burden the boys all carry here. | |
Lance Bombardier Hatton was among the three men killed on Thursday | |
"But Rifleman Wild carried his load lightly and was in no sense a 'small man'. In a land of metaphorical giants here in Sangin, he was as tall as any of them, perhaps more so." | |
The three soldiers were serving with the Rifles Battlegroup when they were killed. | |
UK Defence Secretary Bob Ainsworth has described the incident as a "tragedy" which has brought closer the "sad milestone" of 200 deaths. | UK Defence Secretary Bob Ainsworth has described the incident as a "tragedy" which has brought closer the "sad milestone" of 200 deaths. |
The bodies of four British servicemen killed in Afghanistan had been returned to the UK on Thursday morning. |