LONDON, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- A British soldier was killed and six wounded on Wednesday by a landmine explosion in southern Afghanistan, British Ministry of Defense (MoD) confirmed.

    "One UK soldier died and five seriously injured as a result of a landmine contact in southern Helmand province at approximately 1220 local time (0750 GMT)," a MoD spokeswoman told Xinhua, adding that another soldier suffered slight injury.

    The death has raised the number of British troops killed in Afghanistan to 38 since the U.S.-led Coalition invaded the country in 2001.

    In total, sixteen British soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan in five days.

    On Monday, one British soldier was killed and another seriously wounded in a suicide bomb attack in Afghanistan. And on Saturday, 12 Royal Air Force personnel, a Royal Marine and an Army soldier were killed in an aircraft crash in southern Afghanistan.

    In July, Britain announced that an extra 850 troops would be deployed in the southern Afghan province of Helmand, bringing the number of British soldiers in the country to 4,500 by autumn.

    The British troops, who serve as part of the multinational NATO force, are in Afghanistan to help with reconstruction and to tackle terrorism and heroin cultivation. Enditem