Six British soldiers are believed to have been killed in an explosion which hit an armoured vehicle in Afghanistan, the Ministry of Defence in London (MoD) said Wednesday, DPA reported.
It described the soldiers as missing, believed to be dead. That phrase normally means that the deaths have occurred, but the bodies have not been recovered.
The incident, which happened Tuesday in Helmand province, would take the total death toll among British military personnel in Afghanistan to 404 since the conflict began.
It is the worst single incident involving British soldiers in Afghanistan. The BBC said they were hit by an improvised device while on a mounted patrol in a Warrior armoured vehicle.
Defence Secretary Philip Hammond condemned the attack which he said would not divert from the task of rebuilding Afghanistan. The "tragic attack" was a reminder of the dangers for British forces in Afghanistan.