SECOND 'FRIENDLY FIRE' DEATH PROBED

The serviceman, from 3rd Battalion The Rifles, died on Tuesday from wounds sustained in a firefight near Sangin in Helmand Province on Monday.

It followed the death of Lance Corporal Michael David Pritchard, 22, of the 4th Regiment Royal Military Police, in a separate incident in Sangin on Sunday.

Both deaths may have resulted from friendly fire and they are under investigation by the Royal Military Police, the MoD said. The soldiers' families have been informed.

Lieutenant Colonel David Wakefield, spokesman for Task Force Helmand, paid tribute to the latest member of UK forces to die in Afghanistan.

He said: "It is with deep sadness I must inform you that a British soldier from 3rd Battalion The Rifles passed away as a result of wounds sustained during a fire-fight near Sangin, Helmand Province. His courage and his sacrifice will not be forgotten."

The MoD said it would not release any more information until the conclusion of inquests into the shootings.

The British death toll since the start of operations in Afghanistan in 2001 now stands at 242, including 105 deaths this year.

Meanwhile, the funeral of the 100th British serviceman killed in Afghanistan in 2009 is due to take place.

Lance Corporal Adam Drane, 23, of 1st Battalion, The Royal Anglian Regiment, will be remembered at a church service near his home in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, said the Ministry of Defence. He was shot in Helmand province on December 7.