LONDON, July 25 (Reuters) - A British soldier has died in an explosion in southern Afghanistan, the Ministry of Defence said on Saturday, the 20th to be killed this month. The soldier, of the 40th Regiment Royal Artillery, attached to the Black Watch, died on Saturday during a vehicle patrol in Helmand province. "He was one soldier, who was here for one cause, to help the Afghan people," Lieutenant Colonel Nick Richardson, spokesman for Task Force Helmand, said in a statement. The death comes a day after the British government announced it is to send 125 troops to Afghanistan to replace casualties. British forces are suffering one of their bloodiest months in the conflict as they take part in an offensive in Helmand against the Taliban, including eight deaths on one day. Most were victims of roadside bombs. Since the 2001 U.S.-led invasion, 189 British soldiers have died, surpassing the number killed in Iraq after the 2003 invasion. The surge in the death toll has raised questions in Britain over whether there are enough troops for the job, whether they are properly equipped and even if they should be in Afghanistan at all. (Reporting by Avril Ormsby)
A U.S. gunner gestures on top of his Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) armored vehicle before driving from the Combat Operation Outpost (COP) McClain in Logar Province in Afghanistan July 24, ...
