British soldier among 23 killed in Afghan unrest

0 Comments | AFP, June, 2008

KABUL (AFP) — A British soldier with NATO forces was killed Sunday in southern Afghanistan, officials said, as 12 policemen and 10 Taliban rebels died in different incidents elsewhere in the war-wracked country.

The violence comes as rebels loyal to the ousted Taliban militia have stepped up attacks in recent weeks, turning June into the deadliest month for the 70,000-strong international force based in Afghanistan since 2001.

"An ISAF (International Security Assistance Force) soldier died in an explosion while on a security patrol with an Afghan National Army unit," the alliance force said in a statement earlier Sunday in Kabul.

The British defence ministry in London said the soldier was part of a checkpoint team that had gone to investigate reports of a...