British soldier killed in Afghan blast

British soldiers arrive in Musa Qala, Afghanistan in this December 15, 2007 file photo.

LONDON (Reuters) - A British soldier has been killed in an explosion while on patrol in Afghanistan, the Ministry of Defence said on Thursday.

The soldier, from D Squadron of the Household Cavalry regiment, died on Wednesday in the blast 14 miles north of a British base in Helmand, a southern province where the Taliban remain strong.

His death raises the number of British troops killed in Afghanistan to 121 since the 2001 U.S.-led invasion. Of those, 94 were killed in combat and the rest died in accidents or from illness.

The majority of Britain's 8,100 troops in Afghanistan are based in Helmand, a large, barren province dominated by the Helmand river whose dense valley is a Taliban refuge.

Violence in Afghanistan has this year reached its highest level since U.S.-led and Afghan forces toppled the Taliban after the September 11, 2001 attacks.

(Reporting by Peter Griffiths; Editing by Steve Addison)