May 26 (Reuters) - A British soldier was killed and four wounded in an explosion in an operation against Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan, Britain's Ministry of Defence said on Saturday. The soldier -- from the 1st Battalion the Grenadier Guards -- died on Friday evening during a mission to clear a Taliban-occupied compound on the outskirts of Garmser, in Helmand province in southern Afghanistan. Here are the latest figures for foreign military deaths in Afghanistan since the Taliban government was toppled in 2001: NATO/U.S.-LED COALITION FORCES: United States 390 Canada 55 Britain 56 Spain 20 Germany 21 Other nations 40 TOTAL: 582 Last year was the bloodiest in Afghanistan since U.S.-led forces overthrew the Taliban in 2001 and violence is increasing this year. More than 4,000 people were killed in fighting in 2006, a quarter of them civilians and about 170 of them foreign soldiers killed in fighting or in accidents while on patrol. Sources: Reuters/icasualties (www.icasualties.org/oef)
