Three British troops were killed in a suicide attack believed to have been carried out by a 13-year-old boy in southern Afghanistan, while a fourth soldier was killed in a roadside blast in the same region, officials said Saturday.
The soldiers serving under the banner of NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) were killed in Sangin district of volatile southern Helmand province on Friday, the alliance said in a statement.
The first British marine was killed when his vehicle was struck by a roadside bomb. An hour later, three soldiers on foot patrol were killed after a 13-year-old boy approached them with a wheelbarrow in which a bomb was hidden, the British Defence Ministry said.
The ministry said it was unclear whether the boy, who also died in the blast, was a suicide bomber or if the explosive was triggered by someone else by remote control, reported dpa.
But Taliban spokesman Qari Mohammad Yousif Ahmadi said one of their fighters named Abdul Basid carried out the attack in the Charkhakano area of the district.
Ahmadi, speaking by phone from an undisclosed location, claimed that eight British soldiers were killed and several others were wounded in the attack.
"These servicemen died helping bring peace and security to the Afghan people," ISAF spokesman Brigadier General Richard Blanchette said.
About 8,000 British soldiers are stationed in Helmand province, as part of a 50,000-strong NATO force deployed to Afghanistan from 40 nations.
Friday's deaths brought the total number of British troops killed in Afghanistan to 132.
More than 200 international troops including 46 British soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan in 2008, the deadliest year for the allied forces since the ouster of the Taliban regime in late 2001.