Another British casualty in Afghan war

The story says it all.

RAF gunner and translator killed in Afghanistan

By Stephen Adams

Last Updated: 1:56am BST 01/09/2007

An RAF gunner and a local interpreter were killed yesterday in an explosion during a routine patrol around a major air base in southern Afghanistan.

The gunner, from 51 Squadron, RAF Regiment, was killed in the blast outside Kandahar airfield, the main hub for Nato forces in the region

The Ministry of Defence did not immediately identify the serviceman, but said his loved ones had been informed.

He is the 74th member of the British forces to die in Afghanistan since 2002 and the sixth this month. Twelve have died since the start of July in what has been a grim summer for British forces.

Last week, three soldiers from the 1st Bn, The Royal Anglian Regiment, were killed in a so-called "friendly fire" incident in Helmand, the adjoining province to Kandahar. The 1st Bn has now lost nine soldiers in Afghanistan in five months.

Members of the RAF regiment, effectively a ground force operating as infantry troops, were patrolling in a convoy at around midnight local time when the blast hit one of their vehicles. The casualties were taken by helicopter to a Nato hospital inside the base where the gunner was pronounced dead on arrival. The interpreter died of his injuries later.

The fatality was described as a tragic loss for RAF Lossiemouth in Moray, where 51 Squadron is based.

The base's Officer Commanding Group Captain Mark Roberts said: "It is not yet known what caused the explosion, but an inquiry has already been set up to examine the facts of the incident.

"Our prayers and thoughts go to the families of those involved."