Woman among British troop deaths
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Four UK soldiers have been killed in an explosion in Afghanistan, including the first British woman to die in action in the country.
The female soldier was named as Sarah Bryant, 26, by her father, Des Feely.
It is understood she was an Intelligence Corps soldier while the three unnamed men were Special Forces reservists - members of the 23rd Special Air Service Regiment, which is one of two Territorial Army SAS units.
The four were taking part in an operation east of Lashkar Gah in Helmand Province when their 'snatch' Landrover was caught in a blast at about 3.40pm on Tuesday. A fifth soldier was wounded and is said to be in a stable condition.
Mr Feely said: 'It is truly devastating - an absolute massive shock. Ever since she was a schoolgirl it was her dream to be a soldier. I cannot believe she will not come home.'
Nine British soldiers have died in as many days, marking a sharp upturn in violence against troops in the troubled country. Last week, five soldiers from 2 Para, based in Colchester, Essex, were killed in two separate incidents in Afghanistan.
The latest deaths are the biggest single loss of life for British forces in Afghanistan since September 2006, when 14 personnel were killed when an RAF Nimrod came down near Kandahar.
In the Commons, the Prime Minister offered his 'profound condolences' to the families and friends of the four killed on Tuesday and those who died last week.
Mr Brown said the troops were undertaking 'difficult missions in the most dangerous of countries' and said Britain's armed forces were 'second to none and the best in the world'.
He added: 'They are on the noblest of missions. They are fighting for freedom for the Afghans, in their own country, and for the world in protecting us from terrorism. This House and this country is proud of them all.'
Speaking on television earlier, Foreign Secretary David Miliband was asked if he thought British efforts in Afghanistan are worth the bloodshed and said it was the 'only way this can be done'.
He said: 'We are in Afghanistan, where there are soldiers, diplomats or aid workers, with a very clear mission to make sure that Afghanistan has its own institution and its own security forces that ensure never again does it become a base for al-Qaeda. So we are there with a very clear national interest.'
Mr Miliband added: 'There needs to be reconstruction, whether it be schools or the hospitals or the economy, that allows Afghanistan to become a more normal country. It's a very poor country but it doesn't need to be a country overrun by al-Qaeda.'
He later explained that a military presence is still necessary, adding: 'This is a joint political, economic and security drive and that's the only way this can be done.'
Analysts had suggested the tide could be turning in the battle against the Taliban after Nato troops found they were encountering relatively little resistance in fire fights with militants.
Brigadier Mark Carleton-Smith, the commander of British forces in Helmand, said at the start of this month that the drive against insurgents was at a 'tipping point'.
On Monday, Defence Secretary Des Browne announced that hundreds more British personnel will be deployed to Afghanistan, taking troop numbers to a record high of 8,030 by next spring.
© Independent Television News Limited 2008. All rights reserved.
