The six British soldiers who were killed in Afghanistan on Tuesday after their Warrior armoured vehicle was destroyed by a very powerful IED blast have been named by the MoD.
Cpl Jake Hartley, 20, Pte Anthony Frampton, 20, and Pte Christopher Kershaw, 19, died in the blast.
Pte Daniel Wade, 20, Pte Daniel Wilford, 21, and Sgt Nigel Coupe, 33, were also killed when their Warrior armoured vehicle was hit on Tuesday.
Five of the men were of 3rd Battalion The Yorkshire Regiment and the other was of 1st Battalion The Duke of Lancaster's Regiment.
Floral tributes have been laid at the entrance to the Yorkshire Regiment's barracks in Warminster, Wiltshire.
It is the biggest single loss of life for British troops in the war since 14 were killed when their Nimrod crashed in September 2006.
Despite the deaths, Britain has said it will not pull out of Afghanistan and will stay there until at least 2014.
The incident brings the total number of British military fatalities in Afghanistan part the 400 mark, with 404 British troops now having lost their lives. The British military also makes up over a third of the total number of EU troops to have laid down their lives in the conflict, with France (68 ) suffering the second-highest number of fatalities.
Afghanistan deaths: Six dead UK soldiers named by MoD
BBC News
8th March 2012
Clockwise from top left: Pte Wade, Pte Wilford, Pte Frampton, Pte Kershaw, Cpl Hartley and Sgt Coupe
Six British soldiers killed in southern Afghanistan by a Taliban bomb have been named by the Ministry of Defence.
Cpl Jake Hartley, 20, Pte Anthony Frampton, 20, and Pte Christopher Kershaw, 19, died in the blast.
Pte Daniel Wade, 20, Pte Daniel Wilford, 21, and Sgt Nigel Coupe, 33, were also killed when their Warrior armoured vehicle was hit on Tuesday.
Yorkshire Regiment commanding officer, Lt Col Zac Stenning, paid tribute to his "incredibly brave men".
Their deaths take the total of British military personnel killed in Afghanistan since 2001 to 404.
Five of the men were from 3rd Battalion The Yorkshire Regiment.
Pte Wilford, Pte Frampton and Cpl Hartley came from Huddersfield, West Yorkshire and Pte Kershaw came from Bradford, West Yorkshire. Pte Wade was from Warrington in Cheshire.
Sgt Coupe, from St Annes in Lancashire, was on secondment to the regiment from 1st Battalion The Duke of Lancaster's Regiment.
The deaths represent the biggest single loss of British life in Afghanistan since September 2006, when an RAF Nimrod crashed, killing 14 people.
All six soldiers were based at Battlesbury Barracks in Warminster, Wiltshire. The soldiers from the Yorkshire Regiment had left for Afghanistan on 14 February.
Flowers have been laid at the entrance to the base. Cpl Hartley would have turned 21 on Saturday.
In a statement at the barracks, Col Stenning said: "This week, six of our brothers have fallen. It has been a sad day but, as their brothers-in-arms, we remain committed in our duty to continue with our mission. They would want nothing less.
"Our loss is very great today. But this is, of course, nothing when compared to the deep loss felt by their families and friends.
"Our thoughts and prayers are firmly with them today. I wish to thank the many well-wishers who have shown their support to us at this very difficult time."
AFGHANISTAN: NUMBER OF MILITARY FATALITIES SO FAR
Britain: 404
The other 26 EU Member States combined: 679
Senior army and intelligence officials in Helmand province told the BBC that the soldiers had been killed by a powerful, Taliban bomb that had been planted recently.
The six soldiers had been on a security patrol in a Warrior armoured fighting vehicle when it was caught in an explosion in Kandahar province.
Sad loss: The sister of Private Daniel Wade, Stacey, left, is hugged by an unidentified woman outside the home of the soldier's mother in Warrington
The Taliban told the BBC that they had carried out the attack and were "very proud of it".
Most of the 9,500 UK troops in Afghanistan are expected to be withdrawn by the end of 2014, when 13 years of combat operations in the country are set to cease.
Defence Secretary Philip Hammond said morale among British troops serving in Afghanistan was "extremely high" despite the loss of the soldiers.
He told ITV1's Daybreak programme: "The people on the ground are acutely conscious of the risks that they are running but they are also incredibly proud of the job that they are doing - and rightly so - and hugely satisfied by the level of public support that they have back home.
"Morale on the ground in Afghanistan is extremely high, and it's high because the servicemen and women there know that they are doing a job and and are doing it well and that is their professional commitment to get that job done."
Head of the armed forces, General Sir David Richards, has said the UK will "hold its nerve" in Afghanistan.
Prime Minister David Cameron said on Wednesday that the deaths marked a "desperately sad day for our country".
At the scene
Andrew Plant
BBC News, Warminster
Warminster is inseparable from its military base. Everyone I've spoken to either knows someone who works at the barracks or is part of a military family themselves.
By mid-morning a dozen floral tributes had turned into more than 50, and the numbers are constantly growing.
Many of the messages talk about the shock the local community is feeling. One woman from Westbury told me she felt she had to drive to the entrance to the barracks and lay flowers before she continued with her day.
A few weeks ago local people gathered to watch a candle being lit outside the main gate - the idea is to keep the flame burning until all the troops from Battlesbury Barracks are home from Afghanistan. The news is beginning to sink in here that six soldiers, and five from Warminster, will not be returning when their tour finishes later this year.
WARRIOR ARMOURED VEHICLE
Crew:
Three, plus seven fully-equipped soldiers
Speed:
Max speed of 75kph, average speed 40kph
Weaponry:
Turret-mounted cannon, anti-helicopter chain gun and eight portable Light Anti-Armour (LAW) or anti-tank weapons
Armour:
Shielding on front, sides and underneath give extra protection
Source: British Army
BBC News - Afghanistan deaths: Six dead UK soldiers named by MoD
Cpl Jake Hartley, 20, Pte Anthony Frampton, 20, and Pte Christopher Kershaw, 19, died in the blast.
Pte Daniel Wade, 20, Pte Daniel Wilford, 21, and Sgt Nigel Coupe, 33, were also killed when their Warrior armoured vehicle was hit on Tuesday.
Five of the men were of 3rd Battalion The Yorkshire Regiment and the other was of 1st Battalion The Duke of Lancaster's Regiment.
Floral tributes have been laid at the entrance to the Yorkshire Regiment's barracks in Warminster, Wiltshire.
It is the biggest single loss of life for British troops in the war since 14 were killed when their Nimrod crashed in September 2006.
Despite the deaths, Britain has said it will not pull out of Afghanistan and will stay there until at least 2014.
The incident brings the total number of British military fatalities in Afghanistan part the 400 mark, with 404 British troops now having lost their lives. The British military also makes up over a third of the total number of EU troops to have laid down their lives in the conflict, with France (68 ) suffering the second-highest number of fatalities.
Afghanistan deaths: Six dead UK soldiers named by MoD
BBC News
8th March 2012
Clockwise from top left: Pte Wade, Pte Wilford, Pte Frampton, Pte Kershaw, Cpl Hartley and Sgt Coupe
Six British soldiers killed in southern Afghanistan by a Taliban bomb have been named by the Ministry of Defence.
Cpl Jake Hartley, 20, Pte Anthony Frampton, 20, and Pte Christopher Kershaw, 19, died in the blast.
Pte Daniel Wade, 20, Pte Daniel Wilford, 21, and Sgt Nigel Coupe, 33, were also killed when their Warrior armoured vehicle was hit on Tuesday.
Yorkshire Regiment commanding officer, Lt Col Zac Stenning, paid tribute to his "incredibly brave men".
Their deaths take the total of British military personnel killed in Afghanistan since 2001 to 404.
Five of the men were from 3rd Battalion The Yorkshire Regiment.
Pte Wilford, Pte Frampton and Cpl Hartley came from Huddersfield, West Yorkshire and Pte Kershaw came from Bradford, West Yorkshire. Pte Wade was from Warrington in Cheshire.
Sgt Coupe, from St Annes in Lancashire, was on secondment to the regiment from 1st Battalion The Duke of Lancaster's Regiment.
The deaths represent the biggest single loss of British life in Afghanistan since September 2006, when an RAF Nimrod crashed, killing 14 people.
All six soldiers were based at Battlesbury Barracks in Warminster, Wiltshire. The soldiers from the Yorkshire Regiment had left for Afghanistan on 14 February.
Flowers have been laid at the entrance to the base. Cpl Hartley would have turned 21 on Saturday.
In a statement at the barracks, Col Stenning said: "This week, six of our brothers have fallen. It has been a sad day but, as their brothers-in-arms, we remain committed in our duty to continue with our mission. They would want nothing less.
"Our loss is very great today. But this is, of course, nothing when compared to the deep loss felt by their families and friends.
"Our thoughts and prayers are firmly with them today. I wish to thank the many well-wishers who have shown their support to us at this very difficult time."
AFGHANISTAN: NUMBER OF MILITARY FATALITIES SO FAR
Britain: 404
The other 26 EU Member States combined: 679
Senior army and intelligence officials in Helmand province told the BBC that the soldiers had been killed by a powerful, Taliban bomb that had been planted recently.
The six soldiers had been on a security patrol in a Warrior armoured fighting vehicle when it was caught in an explosion in Kandahar province.
Sad loss: The sister of Private Daniel Wade, Stacey, left, is hugged by an unidentified woman outside the home of the soldier's mother in Warrington
The Taliban told the BBC that they had carried out the attack and were "very proud of it".
Most of the 9,500 UK troops in Afghanistan are expected to be withdrawn by the end of 2014, when 13 years of combat operations in the country are set to cease.
Defence Secretary Philip Hammond said morale among British troops serving in Afghanistan was "extremely high" despite the loss of the soldiers.
He told ITV1's Daybreak programme: "The people on the ground are acutely conscious of the risks that they are running but they are also incredibly proud of the job that they are doing - and rightly so - and hugely satisfied by the level of public support that they have back home.
"Morale on the ground in Afghanistan is extremely high, and it's high because the servicemen and women there know that they are doing a job and and are doing it well and that is their professional commitment to get that job done."
Head of the armed forces, General Sir David Richards, has said the UK will "hold its nerve" in Afghanistan.
Prime Minister David Cameron said on Wednesday that the deaths marked a "desperately sad day for our country".
At the scene
Andrew Plant
BBC News, Warminster
Warminster is inseparable from its military base. Everyone I've spoken to either knows someone who works at the barracks or is part of a military family themselves.
By mid-morning a dozen floral tributes had turned into more than 50, and the numbers are constantly growing.
Many of the messages talk about the shock the local community is feeling. One woman from Westbury told me she felt she had to drive to the entrance to the barracks and lay flowers before she continued with her day.
A few weeks ago local people gathered to watch a candle being lit outside the main gate - the idea is to keep the flame burning until all the troops from Battlesbury Barracks are home from Afghanistan. The news is beginning to sink in here that six soldiers, and five from Warminster, will not be returning when their tour finishes later this year.
WARRIOR ARMOURED VEHICLE
Crew:
Three, plus seven fully-equipped soldiers
Speed:
Max speed of 75kph, average speed 40kph
Weaponry:
Turret-mounted cannon, anti-helicopter chain gun and eight portable Light Anti-Armour (LAW) or anti-tank weapons
Armour:
Shielding on front, sides and underneath give extra protection
Source: British Army
BBC News - Afghanistan deaths: Six dead UK soldiers named by MoD
