A British soldier died Thursday in an explosion in southern Afghanistan, the Ministry of Defence in London said, two days after five died in a shooting by a rogue Afghan policeman.

The serviceman from the 3rd Battalion The Rifles died near Sangin in the volatile Helmand province, said a spokesman for Task Force Helmand, Lieutenant Colonel David Wakefield.

- It is with deep sorrow I must inform you that a British soldier, one of our own, was killed this morning - he said in an MoD statement. - A fellow soldier taken from us in this conflict; his sacrifice will not be forgotten. -

The death brings to 230 the number of British troops who have been killed since operations in Afghanistan began in October 2001. Of these, at least 194 were killed as a result of hostile action.

On Tuesday an apparently rogue Afghan policeman shot dead five British soldiers at a checkpoint in the Nad Ali district of Helmand province -- where the vast majority of Britain's nearly 9,000 troops are based.

The attack, one of the most deadly single incidents in a surge in military deaths this year, raised new questions about the safety of coalition troops as world leaders work to boost training of local forces.