British soldier killed in Afghan battle

British troops crawled up a dusty, barren hill in pre-dawn light to launch an attack on a Taliban position that left 16 suspected insurgents and one British Marine dead.

Snipers set up positions on the hilltop as troops crept close to a mud-brick compound where NATO commanders said insurgents, who were disrupting planned work on a dam project, were staying.

Dutch and British Apache attack helicopters swooped over villages and hills, firing missiles into the compounds believed used by the militants. Troops engaged in rolling duels with militants. American aircraft joined in the battle, dropping 500llbs bombs.

Troops opened canisters of billowing smoke to flush out the fighters, and red and black smoke later rose into the air as troops moved away from the engagement site.

A British soldier and 16 suspected Taliban were killed during yesterday’s six-hour operation, said Major Martin Collins, commanding officer of the 42 Commando Royal Marines at the British outpost at Kajaki in the southern province of Helmand.

For the past few months the British camp in Kajaki, set up to provide security for the upcoming repair work in the nearby Kajaki dam, has regularly endured mortar attacks, British officials said.

The decision to go after the militants was made after observing them for almost a month, officials said. The troops pinpointed a location on a hilltop next to the village of Khak-e-Hajannam, which they targeted during the raid.