LONDON (AFP) - A British soldier serving with NATO forces in Afghanistan was killed in fighting with insurgents, the Ministry of Defence in London said Wednesday.

The soldier, from the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers attached to 2nd Battalion the Parachute Regiment, died Tuesday in the Kajaki area of Helmand Province in southern Afghanistan.

The soldier was part of a patrol which came under fire from insurgents. Two others were injured in the incident but their injuries are not thought to be life threatening.

"Whilst returning fire, one soldier from 2nd Battalion the Parachute Regiment was injured by a mine," the Ministry of Defence said in a statement.

"While leaving the scene after suppressing the enemy, a vehicle other soldiers were travelling in hit a suspected IED (improvised explosive device).

"One soldier from 2nd Battalion the Parachute Regiment was injured and one soldier from the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers sustained serious injuries.

"The soldier from the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, despite the best medical efforts at the scene, died a few minutes later."

The latest casualty took to 139 the number of international soldiers killed in violence spawned by a Taliban-led insurgency. Nearly 220 troopers died last year.

The death brings to 111 the number of British troops killed during operations in Afghanistan since 2001.

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