THREE BRITS DIE IN BLAST; AFGHAN TOLL HITS 199 AS PARAS' BODIES RETURN.

Byline: Sam Marsden

THREE British soldiers were killed in a bomb blast in Afghanistan yesterday.

Their deaths bring the UK toll in the country to 199 and came as the bodies of four paratroopers killed last week were flown home.

The latest victims - two from 2nd Battalion The Rifles and the third from 40 Regiment Royal Artillery - were hit by an explosion while on foot patrol near Sangin in Helmand. Their families have been informed.

All three soldiers were serving with the Rifles Battlegroup.

Defence Secretary Bob Ainsworth said: "The loss of these brave men, and of all those killed in Afghanistan since 2002, is a tragedy.

"It brings us close to the sad milestone of 200 fatalities in this conflict.

"We cannot help but reflect on the toll the mission has taken on our people.

"But we must also keep in the forefront of our minds how important it is to the security of this country and its citizens.

"So many young men and women have been injured or given their lives to ensure Afghanistan does not fall back into the hands of the extremists and terrorists who seek to threaten us and our interests.

"We must succeed. And we will."

Lieutenant Colonel Nick Richardson, spokesman for Task Force Helmand, said: "We will all feel the loss of these brave soldiers, but it is their families, friends and loved ones, as well as the men and women who served alongside them, who feel the greatest pain.

"We offer them our deepest and heartfelt condolences, thoughts and prayers."

The news came as hundreds gathered to pay their respects to Scots paratrooper Kevin Mulligan and three other victims of the war in Afghanistan. The coffins carrying the 26-year-old and his comrades were flown into RAF Lyneham in Wiltshire yesterday morning.

After a private chapel ceremony for their families, hearses carrying the Union Flag-draped coffins were driven to nearby Wootton Bassett for a memorial procession.

The streets were lined with people paying their respects to the heroes.

Kevin, of Alloa, Clackmannanshire, was killed in a Taliban blast in Helmand on August 6, just months before he was due to become a dad. He was set to leave the Army.

Fallen

His fiancee Leanne Kelly, 29, is expecting their first child in November and Kevin had spent visits home preparing a bedroom for the baby.

Also killed by the roadside bomb were Kevin's Parachute Regiment comrades Lance Corporal Dale Hopkins, 23, and Private Kyle Adams, 21.

The men, whose Jackal armoured vehicle came under fire from Taliban gunmen, belonged to the Special Forces Support Group, who were formed to work alongside the SAS.

Private Jason Williams, 23, from Worcester, of the 2nd Battalion The Mercian Regiment, died in a separate incident on Saturday, trying to retrieve a fallen comrade's body.

CAPTION(S):

HONOURED: Scenes all too familiar now in Wootton Bassett for the paratroopers, including Scot Kevin Mulligan. Hundreds turned out in tribute