An explosion struck a NATO patrol vehicle outside a former Taliban town in southern Afghanistan, killing one British soldier and wounding five others, officials said Monday. The British Ministry of Defense said the vehicle was hit Sunday by a mine 3 kilometers (about 2 miles) northeast of Musa Qala, a town in northern Helmand province that the Taliban held for 10 months until U.S., British and Afghan forces retook it last month. One soldier died at the scene and the five others were airlifted to NATO bases for treatment, the ministry said in a statement. None of the wounded had life-threatening injuries, according to a report of the Associated Press. A total of 87 British forces personnel have been killed in Afghanistan since the start of operations in October 2001.
