THE MOD on Tuesday confirmed the British soldier killed in Afghanistan on Monday was from 1 Rifles based at Beachley Barracks.

He has been named as Corporal Mark Palin, 32, believed to be from Plymouth. He was expecting the birth of his second child.

The soldier, who died in the Nahr-e Saraj district of Helmand province, was part of a patrol which had been sent to assist with the recovery of a cache of improvised explosive device (IED) components.

Lt Colonel Tim Purbrick, spokesman for Task Force Helmand, said: "As he led the team rendezvous with another patrol at the start of the operation, the soldier was fatally injured in an explosion."