Troops killed by Afghan blast mostly in early 20s

The six British soldiers killed when a massive explosion hit their armoured vehicle in Afghanistan were mostly in their early 20s, the Ministry of Defence revealed as it named the victims on Thursday.

The soldiers were on patrol in the restive southern province of Helmand, where most British troops are based, when the blast hit their heavily-armoured and tank-tracked Warrior fighting vehicle on Tuesday.

Five of the men were from 3rd Battalion The Yorkshire Regiment and the MoD identified them as Corporal Jake Hartley, 20, Private Anthony Frampton, 20, Private Christopher Kershaw, 19, Private Daniel Wade, 20 and Private Daniel Wilford, 21.

The sixth soldier was Sergeant Nigel Coupe, 33, of 1st Battalion The Duke of Lancaster's Regiment, the ministry said.

"We were on a joint patrol mission in Nahre Saraj district near Lashkar Gah city when a British armoured vehicle ahead of us hit a landmine, killing six soldiers," an Afghan army corps commander in Helmand, Sayed Malook, told AFP.

A witness said the vehicle burned all night.

A military source in Afghanistan said the possibility that the vehicle had hit a Soviet-era mine had not been ruled out.

Old mines remain a threat in a country that has suffered 30 years of war, including a 10-year occupation by Soviet forces in the 1980s.

But Taliban insurgents said in a statement on their website that the vehicle -- described as an American "tank" -- had been blown apart by an improvised explosive device, or homemade bomb.

They stopped short of claiming responsibility for the attack.

British Prime Minister David Cameron described the explosion as marking a "desperately sad day for our country".

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/troops-killed-afghan-blast-mostly-early-20s-105425881.html

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