British soldier dies in Afghanistan

Jun 12, 2009, 8:44 GMT

   London - A British soldier has been killed in an explosion in southern Afghanistan, the Ministry of Defence in London said Friday.

The death, in a blast near Kandahar Thursday, takes the number of British military casualties in Afghanistan since 2001 to 167.

The fatality was confirmed as US General Stanley McChrystal, who is taking charge of troops in Afghanistan, said his priority would be to reduce civilian casualties.

'When we are in position, one of the things we'll do is review all of our rules of engagement and all the instructions to our units, with the emphasis that we are fighting for the population.'

'That involves protecting them both from the enemy and from unintended consequences of our operation, because we know that although an operation may be conducted for the right reason, if it has negative effects it can have a negative outcome for everyone,' told the BBC Friday.

Asked about the length of operations in Afghanistan he said: 'It will go on until we achieve the kind of progress we want to achieve. It won't be short.'

British reports said there were more than 400 insurgent attacks in southern Afghanistan last week, including ambushes, roadside bomb explosions and attacks on government offices.

By comparison, less than 50 such attacks were recorded per week in January, 2004.