British soldier killed in Afghanistan

An aerial view of Kandahar is seen from a blackhawk helicopter in Afghanistan, May 7, 2009.

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

The soldier from the Black Watch, 3rd Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland, was patrolling with an Afghan National Army unit in Helmand Province.

The Defence Ministry did not say when the incident occurred.

The soldier was the 154th member of the British armed forces to have died in Afghanistan since the conflict began in late 2001.

Britain has more than 8,000 troops based in Afghanistan, most serving in Helmand, a desert province that remains a heartland of the Taliban-led insurgency.

(Reporting by Tim Castle)