A BRITISH soldier has been killed and five others injured by a roadside bomb in southern Afghanistan.

The soldier, from the 2nd Battalion of the Yorkshire Regiment, died when an army vehicle was attacked yesterday near the town of Musa Qala.

The five other British casualties, all from the same battalion, were airlifted by helicopter to a medical centre at Camp Bastion.

The soldiers were engaged in operations two miles north-east of the southern Afghan town.

The Ministry of Defence said they were disrupting enemy forces and reassuring local Afghans when their vehicle was struck.

The number of British military deaths in Afghanistan since the start of operations in November 2001 now stands at 87.