A British occupation soldier was killed in southern Afghanistan on Wednesday, Ministry of Defense said.

A British occupation soldier was killed in southern Afghanistan on Wednesday, taking to 381 the number of British troops to be killed in the war-torn country since the US-led invasion in 2001.

British Defense officials said on Thursday that the soldier from 1st Battalion the Rifles was on a joint patrol with Afghan police when he was shot dead.
The incident took place in the village of Haji Khodin Nazar, in the Nahr-e Saraj district of Helmand province.

"The soldier was on a partnered patrol with the Afghan uniformed police when they came under small arms fire during which he was fatally wounded," said military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Tim Purbrick.

Britain has about 9,500 troops in Afghanistan, making it the second-largest contributor after the United States to the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force.