Troops die in Afghan blast

Four British soldiers have been killed in southern Afghanistan, the Ministry of Defence said.

It is claimed one of the dead is a woman.

They were taking part in an operation east of Lashkar Gah in Helmand Province when their vehicle was caught in an explosion at about 3.40pm local time on Tuesday.

Three of the soldiers were killed in the blast and another was pronounced dead on arrival at Camp Bastion.

A fifth soldier wounded in the attack is said to be in a stable condition.

Next of kin have been informed, the MoD said.

If confirmed that one of the dead was a woman, she would be the first British female soldier to have died there. E SF

The MoD said one of the dead soldiers was a member of the Intelligence Corps.

This is the biggest single loss of life for British forces in Afghanistan since September 2006, when 14 personnel were killed when an RAF Nimrod came down near Kandahar.

Brigadier General Carlos Branco, a spokesman for the Nato-led International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan, said: "Our thoughts and sincere condolences are with the family and friends of the brave soldiers who were killed ... These soldiers died and were wounded trying to help bring peace and security for the Afghan people."

The deaths take the number of British service personnel who have died in the country since the start of operations in November 2001 to 106.