UK & World News
The latest UK & World news stories from the Press Association.
Brown in festive greeting to troops
05:05, Dec 20 2009
Gordon Brown has sent a Christmas greeting to troops in Afghanistan as they mourned the latest British soldier to die while serving there.
The soldier from 2nd Battalion, the Duke of Lancaster's Regiment, died from wounds suffered when he was caught in an explosion while on foot patrol in the Nad-e-Ali area of Helmand.
Next of kin have been informed and the Ministry of Defence expect to release his name later.
The death brings the total of British service personnel who have died since the start of operations in Afghanistan in 2001 to 240, including 103 deaths this year.
In his message Mr Brown praised the "unsurpassed" courage of British troops and told them he recognised that this year had "tested your resolve more than any other".
The Prime Minister also spoke of his "gratitude" to the service personnel who have lost their lives, telling the Sunday Mirror: "We owe them a debt we can never fully repay - and we remember too the families they have left behind for whom Christmas will be a heartbreaking time."
The Duke of York too paid tribute to UK troops during a 24-hour visit to Camp Bastion in Helmand province to meet personnel from the Fleet Air Arm, of which he is Commodore-in-Chief.
Writing in the News of the World, the Duke - who himself saw action as a helicopter pilot in the Falklands War - praised the "resilience, determination and spirit" shown by British troops in Afghanistan.
"I have some previous experience of armed conflict; but to hear of the almost daily heroism by virtually everyone, military or civilian, is so completely different from anything I experienced," he said.
"Uppermost in my thoughts are the families of those who have lost loved ones during this year; their loss is incredibly hard to bear and incomprehensible to most of us and my prayers go out to them. We must also not forget the families of those currently deployed in Afghanistan who are separated from their loved ones."
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The latest UK & World news stories from the Press Association.
