The MoD today confirmed the 300th British fatality in Afghanistan, a widely anticipated but still grim milestone in the nine-year war.
The dead soldier's name is not being released yet at the request of his family, but he was a Royal Marine from 40 Commando who was gravely injured in an explosion while on patrol in the Sangin district of Helmand on 12 June. He died yesterday at the New Queen Elizabeth hospital in Birmingham.
The marine was the 15th to die in the province in the last month. Another marine from 40 Commando, injured by small arms fire in Sangin on the following day, died last week in the same hospital.
David Cameron described the announcement as "desperately sad news".
"Of course, the 300th death is no more or less tragic than the 299 that came before. But it's a moment for the whole country to reflect on the incredible service and sacrifice and dedication that the armed forces give on our behalf."
The prime minister acknowledged that many people were questioning Britain's role in the war.
"We are paying a high price for keeping our country safe, for making our world a safer place and we should keep asking why we are there and how long we must be there," he said.
"We are there because the Afghans are not yet ready to keep their own country safe and to keep terrorists and terrorist training camps out of their country."
The defence secretary, Liam Fox, acknowledged growing public unease but forcefully defended UK involvement: "Our armed forces are the best in the world, operating daily in the most dangerous and demanding conditions. Some have made the ultimate sacrifice to ensure this essential mission succeeds.
"My thoughts and those of the nation's are with the families and friends of all those servicemen and women who have fallen but our resolve and determination to see the mission through remains steadfast."
He insisted the forces in Afghanistan were defending British national security. "Their efforts will bring security and stability to Afghanistan and prevent it from once again becoming a base from which terrorists can attack the UK and our allies around the world.
"The last nine years have seen British forces at the forefront of the campaign, for the last five working hard in one of the most challenging areas of the country building Afghan capacity to secure and govern their own country – a process which ultimately will allow us to bring our forces home."
The chief of defence staff, Air Chief Marshal Sir Jock Stirrup, said the news would increase the determination of the troops on the ground: "Our armed forces take enormous pride in their role in Afghanistan where they are helping to provide security to protect our freedoms at home.
"We remember everyone who has given their life in the line of duty and honour the significant progress they have helped to deliver in Afghanistan."
Last week, Cameron, having made his first visit to Afghanistan as prime minister and knowing that the 300th fatality was inevitable, warned the House of Commons there would be more casualties over the summer. He said the war had reached a critical phase: "Our forces will not remain in Afghanistan a day longer than is necessary and I want to bring them home the moment it is safe to do so."
Within days the deaths were announced of Marine Steven James Birdsall, from 40 Commando Royal Marines, who died in the Birmingham hospital of gunshot wounds from an attack on 13 June; two Fijian-born soldiers, Corporal Taniela Tolevu Rogoiruwai and Kingsman Ponipate Tagitaginimoce, from 1st Battalion The Duke of Lancaster's Regiment, in separate incidents on Tuesday, and 21-year-old trooper Ashley Smith, from York, who became the 299th casualty on Friday.
Of the 300 British forces and Ministry of Defence (MoD) civilian deaths since October 2001, 265 were killed by enemy action, and 35 died of illness, non-combat injuries or accidents. Almost 3,500 injured or ill military and civilian personnel have been evacuated by air for treatment in the UK.
In contrast with earlier deaths, mainly victims of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) planted beside roads, half the recent casualties have been from small arms fire, indicating that the insurgents are still well supplied with guns and ammunition.
Although the US has lost far more soldiers, a UK report has found that the rate of British deaths has been almost four times higher, and double that which classifies warfare as "major combat".
The analysis, by the Medical Research Council's biostatistics unit at Cambridge University, shows the death rate reached 13 per 1,000 personnel years in the 12 months to May. The official classification of major combat is reached at six per 1,000 personnel years. In February and May, the UK death rate reached 9.9 per 1,000 personnel years, compared with 2.7 for US forces. The death rate has also doubled in Afghanistan since 2006.