The family of a Nepalese solider killed in Afghanistan live in Canterbury.

Col Sgt Krishna Dura, 36, was a member of the 2nd Battalion The Royal Gurkha Rifles.

He was killed on Saturday when a bomb went off under the Warrior armoured vehicle he was travelling in through the district of Musa Qala, Helmand Province.

Sgt Dura’s wife and two daughters, who are living at Canterbury’s Howe Barracks, have been informed.

He is the second Nepalese soldier from the same regiment to be killed in Afghanistan in two weeks.

Rifleman Yubraj Rai, 28, died in a gun battle 11 days before.

A Ministry of Defence spokesman said Sgt Dura was taking part in a routine road move when the vehicle he was travelling in struck a bomb.

Lt Col Chris Darby, CO of 2nd Battalion The Royal Gurkha Rifles, said: “Col Sgt Krishna was an exceptional soldier, a gifted leader and consummate professional.

"Deployed from day one under the most demanding conditions countering an ethereal, highly dangerous and elusive enemy, he and the men he commanded had already delivered extraordinary results in a very short period of time

"He was hard, intelligent, brave and strong; he was a gifted leader; and he was a commander with the highest potential."

The battalion, which is based at Folkestone, is in Afghanistan as one of the Force Protection troops for the Commando Logistic Regiment.

Sgt Dura’s death brings the total number of servicemen killed in Afghanistan since 2001 to 125.