A British soldier has been shot and killed in southern Afghanistan, the Ministry of Defence said Monday, in what officials said could have been the result of friendly fire.
The soldier from The Royal Military Police "was killed as a result of small arms fire that happened in the Sangin area, in central Helmand province, during the evening of December 20, 2009", the ministry said.
A later statement added that "there is a possibility that the latest death in Afghanistan was caused as a result of friendly fire", and an investigation was underway. No conclusion would be reached until after the inquest, it said.
The soldier's death, the second at the weekend, brings to 241 the number of British troops killed in Afghanistan since the US-led invasion in October 2001.
Some 104 of these have occurred this year, making it the deadliest year for Britain's armed forces since the 1982 Falklands War.
The rising death toll has hit public support for the war in Afghanistan, where almost 10,000 British troops are battling Taliban insurgents as part of an international coalition.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown's government has been forced to defend Britain's role in the campaign as well as criticism that troops lack proper equipment.
Families of soldiers killed delivered a petition Monday to Brown's Downing Street offices against the conflict containing between 25,000 and 30,000 signatures, according to organisers.
"We would like our troops to be brought home from Afghanistan. This is a war that was under-funded, under-equipped and under false pretences," said Graham Knight, whose son died in Afghanistan.
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