Second British soldier killed in Afghanistan in two days

A British soldier has been killed in southern Afghanistan - the second to die in the country within 24 hours.

Sergeant Dave Wilkinson, 33, from 19 Regiment Royal Artillery, died when his vehicle exploded following an exchange of fire. Four others were injured.

The patrol was fired upon by small arms and rocket-propelled grenades after leaving its base in the town of Gareshk in Helmand province.

The injured were flown to a medical unit at Camp Bastion where Sgt Wilkinson, a married man from Ashford in Kent, was pronounced dead.

The death follows that of a soldier from 1st battalion, The Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters, on an operation with U.S. and Afghan troops in northern Helmand.

He was named as Captain Sean Dolan, who was wounded destroying a damaged vehicle to stop the Taliban seizing it during fighting south-west of the town of Sangin, and died at Camp Bastion.

The 40-year-old soldier, originally from the West Midlands, was killed by a mortar round.

The two deaths bring the toll of British military fatalities in Afghanistan to 63 since the start of operations in November 2001.

Afghan authorities launched an inquiry yesterday into Nato air strikes that reportedly killed dozens of civilians in Helmand.

Afghan officials said the U.S.-led attacks last Friday on homes where Taliban fighters took shelter killed 62 insurgents and 45 civilians.

Nato, which welcomed the inquiry, admitted some civilians were killed but denied it was as high as 45.

Spokesman Major John Thomas said: "We don't mean to trivialise any of those who died but we believe the numbers are a dozen or fewer."

Civilian deaths have angered Afghans. President Hamid Karzai says "careless" coalition forces see Afghan lives as "cheap". He also blames the Taliban for using civilians as human shields.

A UN tally shows that of civilian deaths this year, 314 were caused by international or Afghan security forces and 279 by insurgents.