The New Nation - Internet Edition

AFP, Kabul

A British Royal Marine was shot dead on Christmas Eve while trying to drive "enemy forces" from a volatile district in southern Afghanistan, the British military said Thursday.

The soldier, whose identity was not released, was the second to be killed on Wednesday, after the US military said one of its troopers was killed in the east of the country in an insurgent attack.

The marine was killed in the Nad Ali district of southern Helmand province, the British defence ministry said in a statement.

"He was taking part in an operation to remove enemy forces from the north of the district," it said.

"The death of this Royal Marine is a tragic loss and coming so close to Christmas is particularly poignant," said the British military's spokeswoman in Helmand, Commander Paula Rowe.

The soldier was shot while helping clear a compound, another spokesman said.

His death was earlier announced by the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force, under which the British troops are serving alongside those of nearly 40 other nations. ISAF gave no details about the incident.

About 70,000 international soldiers are deployed in Afghanistan to help the government fight an insurgency led by the extremist Taliban, who ruled between 1996 and 2001.