A soldier from Co Derry has been killed in an explosion in southern Afghanistan.
The serviceman, from 1st Battalion, the Royal Irish Regiment, was caught in a blast while out on patrol in the Nad’e Ali area of Helmand province yesterday morning. He is expected to be named today.
First Minister Peter Robinson said he was deeply moved and saddened by the soldier’s death. “This death brings home the reality of war. Remembrance Sunday is not about the past, it’s about the present,” he said.
Ulster Unionist Party leader Tom Elliot said: “It is with great sadness that I have learnt of the death in Afghanistan of a young soldier from the Royal Irish Regiment.
“His death is particularly poignant on a day that we have been remembering the fallen in two world wars and in campaigns in more recent times.
“Brave young men and women in Northern Ireland have given their lives to protect us and our freedom and even on the day that we remember them, one more hero has given his life.”
A total of 344 UK military personnel have died in Afghanistan since operations began in 2001.
PA