Read analysis by Michael Evans, The Times defence editor

A British soldier has died in a gun battle with Taleban forces in Afghanistan, becoming the first fatality in the UK's deployment to the turbulent south of the country.

Two other soldiers were seriously injured in the firefight, which took place in the district of Sangeen in Helmand province, where villages and towns have swung in and out of Taleban control since the United States-led invasion of the country in late 2001.

Early reports suggested that British Apache helicopters were called in to support soldiers of the 7 Parachute Regiment Royal Horse Artillery when the gun fight started last night and that several Taleban fighters were killed in the exchange of fire. The wounded men were to the military hospital in Camp Bastion in Helmand.

A Ministry of Defence spokeswoman said: "A mobile patrol was engaged in a fire-fight against suspected Taleban forces. Sadly, as a result of this engagement one UK soldier was killed and two others were seriously injured."

The identity of the dead soldier, the eighth British serviceman to die in Afghanistan since 2001, has not been released. The Ministry of Defence said today that his next of kin had asked for an extra 24 hours before his name is made public to inform his entire family. The majority of the 3,300 British soldiers currently deploying in the Helmand belong to the 16 Air Assault Brigade, which is based in Colchester, Essex.

The Secretary of Defence, Des Browne, who is visiting Afghanistan, sent his condolences to the dead soldier's family. "My principal thoughts are with the friends and family of the soldier who was killed," he said. "It is a terrible time for them and they have to be my first priority."

The death comes at a time of intensifying violence in Afghanistan, with British soldiers given the task of controlling resurgent Taleban forces as part of the new Nato mission in the country. Last week, British soldiers killed five suspected Taleban fighters in the north of Helmand. Earlier this month, militants dressed in police uniforms kidnapped 40 Afghan police, killing 11.

Mr Browne said: "Along with about 40 other countries, we are here in Afghanistan determined to make this a safer place for the people of Afghanistan to live in. There are people out there, after three decades of conflict, who are determined to stop us doing that."

"They will deploy any violence they can to stop us doing that, but they can’t be allowed to succeed. We must achieve our objective of making this a better country not only for the Afghan people, but also we mustn’t allow it to become a haven for terrorism again."

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