A British soldier has died in hospital from wounds suffered in combat in Afghanistan, the Ministry of Defence has said. The serviceman, from 1st Battalion The Duke of Lancaster's Regiment, was wounded in fighting in the Lashkar Gah district of Helmand Province on January 14. He was flown back to the UK for treatment at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham, but died earlier. His next of kin have been informed. The soldier's death takes to 440 the number of UK service members who have lost their lives since operations in Afghanistan began in October 2001. Major Chris Boryer, the Task Force Helmand spokesman, said: "It is my solemn duty to report the death of a soldier from 1st Battalion The Duke of Lancaster's Regiment who has died as a result of wounds sustained whilst on duty in the Lashkar Gah district of Helmand Province. "The thoughts and prayers of everyone serving in Task Force Helmand are with his family and friends at this extremely difficult time." The soldier is the second British serviceman to be killed in Afghanistan in 2013. Sapper Richard Reginald Walker, 23, from 28 Engineer Regiment attached to 21 Engineer Regiment, was killed in a "green-on-blue" insider attack by a suspected member of the Afghan National Army in the Nahr-e Saraj district of Helmand province on January 7. https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ministry-of-defence(Ministry of Defence) | 
