Britain's defense ministry says a soldier has been shot dead in the Nad-e Ali district of southern Afghanistan's Helmand province. The soldier, from the Queen's Gurkha Engineers serving with 21 Engineer Regiment, died in a firefight on Friday, the ministry said on Saturday. Lt. Col. David Southall, spokesman for Task Force Helmand, said the serviceman had been working as a part of a sapper _ or combat engineering _ team. The soldier was not identified by name, but his family has been informed of his death, the Associated Press reported.
