Six Soldiers Killed In Afghanistan Are Named (PICTURES)

Six Soldiers Killed In Afghanistan Are Named
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The six soldiers who died in the single worst enemy attack on British troops of the Afghan campaign have been named by the MOD.

They died when their Warrior armoured vehicle was hit by an apparent improvised explosive device while on patrol in Helmand Province on Tuesday evening.

Ammunition on board the Warrior ignited, causing a fierce fire to burn for many hours.

The intensity of the blaze meant rescuers could not get near the vehicle, and its charred shell was only taken back to the main British base in Helmand, Camp Bastion, at 7.30pm on Wednesday night local time.

The soldier from 1st Battalion The Duke of Lancaster's Regiment is named as Sergeant Nigel Coupe, aged 33.

The five soldiers from 3rd Battalion The Yorkshire Regiment are: Corporal Jake Hartley, 20, Private Anthony Frampton, 20, Private Christopher Kershaw, 19, Private Daniel Wade, 20 and Private Daniel Wilford, 21.

The attack represents the biggest loss of life for British troops in an enemy attack since action began in 2001, and takes the death toll of UK troops in the region to 404.

The MoD said it did not plan to release further information about the six soldiers until they have been formally identified. It is understood that this could take several days because experts are having to use DNA techniques to confirm their identities.

Private Frampton went to Royds Hall High School in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, and signed up to the Army in 2009 at the age of 18, according to the Huddersfield Daily Examiner.

He had reassured his mother he would be "fine" weeks before his death.

Private Wilford was just 16 when he joined the Army and Corporal Hartley, a former student at Earlsheaton High School in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, was 17 when he enlisted, the paper reported.

The incident is biggest single loss of British military personnel in the country since an RAF Nimrod crash, which killed 14 people in 2006.

The Taliban told the BBC they carried out the attack and were "very proud of it".