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Britain's Afghanistan toll rises to 200

Last Updated: Saturday, August 15, 2009 | 6:27 PM ET

CBC News
A cortege of hearses carrying the bodies of eight British soldiers killed in Afghanistan last month pass mourners lining the street in Wootton Bassett, England, on July 14. A cortege of hearses carrying the bodies of eight British soldiers killed in Afghanistan last month pass mourners lining the street in Wootton Bassett, England, on July 14. (Simon Dawson/Associated Press)

A British soldier died Saturday from wounds sustained in Afghanistan, bringing the number of British troops killed since operations began in 2001 to 200.

The soldier, from the 2nd Battalion the Royal Welsh, was severely wounded in an explosion Thursday in Helmand province and died in a hospital in Britain's West Midlands, the Ministry of Defence said.

The soldier's next of kin have been informed, the ministry said. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown called the soldier's death "deeply tragic news."

News of the death came amid a flurry of violent attacks in Afghanistan ahead of next Thursday's elections for both president and provincial councils. Nine British military personnel have been killed this month alone.

Earlier Saturday, seven people died and 91 others were injured — including a Canadian living in Kabul and an Afghan employee of the Canadian Embassy — in a suicide car bombing near the main gate of NATO headquarters in Kabul.

The Taliban, Afghanistan's former hardline rulers, have vowed to disrupt the Aug. 20 vote where ballots will be cast for provincial councils and for president. Incumbent Harmid Karzai is considered a front-runner.

Since 2002, 127 Canadian soldiers have been killed serving in the Afghanistan mission. One diplomat and two aid workers have also been killed.

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