UK soldier killed in Afghanistan

(CNN) -- A British soldier was killed and two others were wounded in a blast in southern Afghanistan, the British Defence Ministry said on Friday.

Troops were returning to their Kandahar Air Base after an operation Thursday "when a vehicle they were traveling in was caught in an explosion about 30 kilometers, or more than 18 miles, west of Kandahar."

Kandahar province, the former heartland of the hardline Taliban militia, is one of the major battlegrounds in southern Afghanistan. Others include Uruzgan and Helmand provinces.

The troops were evacuated by helicopter to a medical facility run by NATO's International Security Assistance Force. The slain soldier was dead on arrival.

NATO earlier reported the casualties but did not list their nationalities or the location of the incident.

This is the 82nd British military member to die in the Afghanistan conflict, according to a CNN count of Defence Ministry figures.

Separately "several non-combatants" were found killed and wounded in a building housing militants who fired on troops in southeastern Afghanistan, the U.S.-led coalition said.

The casualties came during an operation on Thursday night in the Waza Khawa District of Paktika province intended to "disrupt violent extremist activities in the area."

Afghan and coalition troops found "several adult males, an adult female, and one child dead and two children wounded."

The troops traded fire with militants, armed with semi-automatic weapons and grenades. Several troops were wounded in the fighting, in which the building housing militants was destroyed. There was some damage to other buildings.

Maj. Chris Belcher, Combined Joint Task Force 82 spokesman, said there had been "no indication" civilians were in the area of the operation

"By hiding among innocent civilians, by waging a battle among women and children, the violent extremists have shown their utter disregard for lives of the Afghan people." E-mail to a friend

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