Six British soldiers patrolling in southwest Afghanistan are missing and presumed dead in an explosion. British Task Force spokesman Lt. Colonel Gordon Mackenzie said the soldiers were on patrol in Helmand province on Tuesday when their armored vehicle struck a landmine.
"The six soldiers, five from the 3rd Battalion the Yorkshire Regiment and one from the 1st Battalion The Duke of Lancaster's, were on patrol in a Warrior armored fighting vehicle when it was caught in an explosion in the Task Force Helmand area of operations," Lt. Colonel Mackenzie said.
The causalities will be officially confirmed after the bodies are recovered from the vehicle by the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force.
"This is a desperately sad day for our country and desperately sad of course for the families concerned. I do believe it's important work for our national security right here at home but of course this work will increasingly be carried out by Afghan soldiers and we all want to see that transition take place,” British Prime Minister David Cameron said Wednesday.
"This tragic incident brings home to us the dangers that are faced on a daily basis by the men and women of our armed Forces deployed in Afghanistan. My thoughts are with the families and friends of the six soldiers who are missing, believed killed and also with their colleagues, both in Afghanistan and the UK, whose brave work continues or is about to start," said Defense Secretary Philip Hammond.
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