Four British soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan after their vehicle was caught in an explosion, the Ministry of Defence has said.

The explosion happened east of Lashkar Gah in Helmand Province.

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Britons feared on missing plane ... the blast and another was pronounced dead at the Camp Bastion medical base.

The dead soldiers' next-of-kin have been informed. The deaths take the number of British soldiers killed in Afghanistan since 2001 to 106.

One of the dead soldiers was a member of the Intelligence Corps, the MoD said.

A fifth soldier wounded in the attack, which happened at 1540 local time on Tuesday, is in a stable condition.

Brig Gen Carlos Branco, from the Nato-led International Security Assistance Force (Isaf) in Afghanistan, said: "Our thoughts and sincere condolences are with the family and friends of the brave soldiers who were killed today.

"These soldiers died and were wounded trying to help bring peace and security for the Afghan people."

Defence Secretary Des Browne announced this week that British troop numbers in Afghanistan will rise by 230 to a new high of more than 8,000 by next spring.

(BBC)

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