A British soldier from Third Battalion The Rifles has been killed by a suicide car bomber in southern Afghanistan, the Ministry of Defence has announced.

The soldier, who was on patrol at the time of the attack, died on Saturday afternoon after an explosion 1km east of Sangin, in the Helmand Province.

Lt Col David Wakefield, of Task Force Helmand, spoke of the his "indefatigable courage".

The soldier's family have been informed of the death.

He had been providing protection for soldiers who had just deactivated an unexploded insurgent bomb when the attack happened.

Lt Col Wakefield said: "He was part of a patrol to deal with an unexploded insurgent bomb, an operation to protect and save lives.

'Lost comrade'

"The bomb had been successfully dealt with and the soldiers had continued on their foot patrol when a suicide bomber in a car detonated himself near them.

"We have lost another of our comrades, whose indefatigable courage in the face of danger day after day will not be forgotten."

He is the eighth soldier from The Rifles to have died in the conflict this month.

Some 276 British military personnel have now been killed in Afghanistan since operations began in 2001.

The death was not related to Operation Moshtarak, a major offensive against the Taliban involving thousands of British troops.