Injured British soldier dies 1.5 year after bomb blast in Afghanistan

[News_Editor]

Injured British soldier dies 1.5 year after bomb blast in Afghanistan

2012-01-04 00:13:59 GMT+7 (ICT)

LONDON (BNO NEWS) -- A British soldier, who was injured in the summer of 2010 as a result of a bomb blast in southern Afghanistan, has died as a result of those injuries, the British Ministry of Defense confirmed on Tuesday.

The soldier, whose identity was not immediately released, was seriously injured in June 2010 in southern Afghanistan when he was caught in an explosion from an improvised explosive device (IED). He died as a result of those injuries on Monday at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham, England.

"It is with great sadness that I must confirm the death of a Gurkha soldier from 1st Battalion, The Royal Gurkha Rifles, who had previously been seriously injured in Afghanistan," said Lieutenant Colonel David Robinson, Commanding Officer of 1st Battalion, The Royal Gurkha Rifles. "Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends at this very difficult time."

The British Ministry of Defense said the soldier's next of kin have been informed and have asked for the customary period of grace before his name is released to the public. Further details are expected to be released on Wednesday or Thursday.

Tuesday's death raises the number of coalition troops killed in Afghanistan so far this year to 2. ISAF earlier said a service member died on Monday in southern Afghanistan as a result of an IED attack, but gave no other details such as his nationality.

A total of 566 ISAF troops were killed in Afghanistan in 2011, down from 711 in 2010. A majority of the fallen troops were American and were killed in the country's south, which is plagued by IED attacks on troops and civilians.

There are currently more than 130,000 ISAF troops in Afghanistan, including some 90,000 U.S. troops and more than 9,500 British soldiers. U.S. President Barack Obama previously ordered a drawdown of 23,000 U.S. troops later this year, and foreign combat troops are due to leave Afghanistan by the end of 2014.

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