Soldier killed in Afghanistan named

The Ministry of Defence has released the name of a British soldier killed in Afghanistan.

Corporal Stephen Damian Lawrence, 25, died on Sunday night after being caught in an explosion.

Cpl Lawrence, from the 2nd Battalion The Yorkshire Regiment (Green Howards), was taking part in a joint UK-Afghan national army night patrol tasked with clearing a number of compounds in Kajaki, in Helmand Province, a Ministry of Defence (MoD) spokesman said.

"Immediately upon entry into a compound, an explosive device detonated, fatally injuring Corporal Lawrence.

"Another soldier was also wounded, but his injuries are not life-threatening."

Cpl Lawrence was born in Scarborough, North Yorkshire, but had his roots firmly based in the town of Whitby, the spokesman said.

He enlisted on October 28, 1999.

His role in Helmand Province was to train and mentor an Afghan national army platoon - a dangerous and difficult task that he performed outstandingly, the spokesman said.

Cpl Lawrence's Commanding Officer, Lieutenant Colonel Simon Downey, said: "Every way you considered him, Corporal Lawrence was outstanding.

"To his partner Eve and his young daughter Jessica he was a loving partner and doting father. To his battalion, he was a great comrade and an accomplished soldier."

The death brings to 88 the number of British military lives lost in Afghanistan since operations began in October 2001.

Meanwhile, a car bomb explosion has shaken the southern Afghan city of Kandahar, which is still reeling from two other bloody attacks in the area.

The remote-controlled blast was aimed at a police vehicle but missed it, leaving one civilian dead and three more injured.

The attack came as many people in the city observed general mourning for more than 140 people killed in two suspected suicide raids in the past two days in other parts of Kandahar province.

The region is a stronghold for Taliban insurgents fighting the Afghan government and its Western backers.

Most victims of the two attacks were civilians.

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