British soldiers engaged in fighting in Afghanistan

LONDON, June 27 (Reuters) UK forces have been engaged in an ''incident'' in Afghanistan, the Ministry of Defence today said but a spokesman could not confirm BBC reports that one British solider had been killed.

BBC radio said a soldier was killed fighting in Helmand province, in the southwest of the country.

''We cannot confirm that report. We are aware of an incident involving UK forces in northern Helmand,'' a spokesman said.

If confirmed, the soldier would be the second to die since UK forces were deployed to the volatile area of Helmand in recent months.

Thousands more NATO peacekeeping troops will be in place by the end of July and this summer is seen as a critical period. Britain will soon have about 3,300 troops in Helmand, as part of an expansion by NATO forces in the country.

A British soldier was killed and two more seriously wounded in a gunbattle with Taliban forces in Helmand earlier this month.

Reuters SY GC1336