By Ralph Barnett, at Camp Bastion, Helmand Province

For the second time in less than six weeks, a member of Arbroath-based 45 Commando has paid the ultimate price for his unit’s involvement in the ongoing struggle to oust the Taliban from their strongholds in the troubled Helmand province of Afghanistan.

The Royal Marine, whose next of kin have been informed but whose name is being withheld until other family members have been notified, died as a result of injuries sustained during a 10-hour battle to dislodge Taliban insurgents from a village in the Garmsir district in the southern part of Helmand.

The fatally injured serviceman and a wounded comrade were evacuated by helicopter to the UK military hospital at Camp Bastion.

One of the men, understood to have been a member of 45 Commando’s Zulu Company, died of his wounds. The other underwent surgery and was reported to be in a stable condition.

The operation, which began before first light yesterday, involved what Lt Colonel Andy Price, the UK forces spokesman for the Helmand area, described as a substantial task force presence backed up by elements of the Afghan National Army and both fixed wing and helicopter air support.

Lt Col Price said, “I can confirm that the fatality involved a member of 45 Commando who was, at the time, attached to another unit in the south of Helmand. His injuries, and those of the injured Royal Marine, were sustained as a result of the enemy response to the operation but it would be unfair to speculate further.

“As much as possible, we have joint operations with the Afghan National Army and that was the case in this incident. In everything we do out here, we involve all aspects of the Helmand Task Force and, where possible, we will always have air support.

“I can confirm that, in this case, troops on the ground were supported by both fixed wing aircraft and attack helicopters.”

It is understood American B1 bombers, A10 attack aircraft and Apache attack helicopters were involved in the battle before the task force withdrew.

Sources said the initial sporadic resistance to the task force operation quickly turned into a full-blown battle as Taliban forces launched a ferocious counter-attack.

Elsewhere, a suicide bomber targeted a NATO convoy in southern Afghanistan yesterday, injuring two civilians and damaging a military vehicle.

The bomber struck the convoy in Kandahar city but it was not immediately clear if there were any NATO casualties, said Razaq Khan, a police official at the site.

A NATO spokesman had no immediate information but at least one NATO vehicle was damaged by the blast.

News of the latest Arbroath casualty came on the day it emerged that one of the three 45 Commando marines wounded in a suicide attack on Sunday is Arbroath-born Craig McMillan, whose family have rushed down south to be at his bedside as he recovers from his injuries. See full report on Page 2.