A British soldier died and two more were wounded when a suicide bomber rammed a car into their convoy in Afghanistan, the Ministry of Defence said yesterday.
The attack on the eastern outskirts of the capital, Kabul, on Monday afternoon also killed three civilians and left 12 wounded, Afghan officials said.
The British soldier was from 16 Signal Regiment. Next of kin have been informed.
An MoD spokeswoman said: “The three British soldiers were evacuated to a military hospital where one of them sadly died from his wounds.
“Our thoughts and condolences are with his family, friends and comrades.”
The suicide attacker exploded his vehicle by ramming it into a convoy of armoured vehicles at 4pm local time yesterday.
The MoD confirmed the British casualties after notifying their families yesterday morning.
Brigadier General Richard Blanchette, spokesman for the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), said: “We denounce this heartless act, and I offer our condolences and sympathies to the families of those killed and injured.
“This attacker’s target might have been ISAF soldiers, but he only succeeded in proving the insurgents’ utter disregard for the lives of the Afghan people.
“Acts such as this will not deter ISAF in our commitment to help Afghans create a better Afghanistan.”
The soldier who died Monday is the 115th British serviceman to be killed in Afghanistan since operations began in November 2001, the MoD said.
Last week, Defence Secretary Des Browne acknowledged that progress in Afghanistan had come at a “high price”.
Mr Browne accepted the military was being stretched by operations in both Iraq and Afghanistan.
But he said the force in Afghanistan was capable of doing the job asked of it and he could increase troop numbers if military commanders requested.
Work is set to begin on transforming a UK Army base into a Middle East-style environment, the MoD said yesterday.
Military chiefs have been given the go-ahead to create an £18million replica at Stanford Training Area, near Thetford, Norfolk, to prepare troops to fight in Iraq and Afghanistan.
An MoD spokeswoman said the 12.5-acre development would include a mosque and a market place, plus similar-styled buildings and roads to those found in the Middle East.
She said builders would move in as soon as possible after the plans were given the go-ahead by Breckland District Council on Monday.