London - A British bomb disposal expert was killed in southern Afghanistan on Tuesday when an improvised explosive device went off as he was clearing a road, the Ministry of Defence in London said.
The soldier, part of a specialist group tasked with tackling the threat from IEDs laid by Taliban insurgents, was caught in the blast in Lashkar Gah district, in troubled Helmand Province. His next of kin had been informed.
The death of the soldier, from 23 Pioneer Regiment, The Royal Logistic Corps, brings to 348 the number of British troops killed since operations in Afghanistan began in October 2001.
The rate of British troops being killed has dropped since they handed over control of the flashpoint Helmand market town of Sangin to US forces in September.
Britain has around 9,500 troops in Afghanistan, largely battling Taliban militants in Helmand.
From Islamabad Xinhua News Agency reported at least 16 people were killed in four consecutive U.S. drone strikes Tuesday afternoon in Pakistan`s northwest tribal area of North Waziristan, reported local media.
In the first strike, the U.S. drones fired two missiles at two houses in Tehsil Ghulam Khan area of North Waziristan, killing five people inside the houses.
In the second strike which came minutes after the first one, three people were killed while a local Urdu TV channel DAWN claimed 12 people died in the missile attack.
In the third strike, four people were killed and two others injured.
The second and third strike were launched in the same area as the first one, but local media gave no more details such as the targets of the attack.
The fourth strike left four people dead when two missiles were reportedly fired at a vehicle in the Datta Khel area of North Waziristan.
North Waziristan, which borders Afghanistan, is believed to be a safe heaven of insurgents and militants. A total of 113 people have been killed in 15 drone strikes in northwest Pakistan so far this month.
