Shoreham: Soldier Dies In Afghanistan

16 October 2013, 15:01 | Updated: 16 October 2013, 15:11

A British soldier killed in Afghanistan has been named as Lance Corporal James Brynin, of the Intelligence Corps who was born in Shoreham-by-Sea.

L/Cpl Brynin, 22, who worked as an intelligence analyst, had already been selected for promotion but was shot dead yesterday when his patrol was attacked in the area of Kakaran, north east of Lashkar Gah, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) said.

Despite receiving immediate medical attention, L/Cpl Brynin, known as Jay, died from his injuries at the scene.

His death takes to 445 the number of UK service members who have lost their lives since operations in Afghanistan began in October 2001.

It is the first UK death in Afghanistan since Corporal William Savage, Fusilier Samuel Flint, and Private Robert Hetherington died when their Mastiff armoured vehicle hit an improvised explosive device (IED) on April 30.

Paying tribute to L/Cpl Brynin, the MoD said he had excelled in the army, had already been selected for promotion to corporal and had ``grand ambitions''.

The 22-year-old, a dedicated, Brighton & Hove Albion fan, joined the army in February 2011 and joined the Intelligence Corps.

After his initial training he was posted to 14th Signal Regiment (Electronic Warfare) and had already served a tour in Afghanistan in 2012.

He returned to Afghanistan this August as an intelligence analyst working for a light electronic warfare team (LEWT) within the Brigade Reconnaissance Force (BRF) of 7th Armoured Brigade.

In the early hours of yesterday, the BRF deployed from Camp Bastion into Nahr-e Saraj in Helmand Province to counter an ``imminent threat'' to both Afghans and Isaf (International Security Assistance Force) personnel, the MoD said.

Towards the end of the operation, the section came under fire.

Together with a sniper and machine-gunner of the BRF, L/Cpl Brynin returned fire but suffered a fatal gunshot wound.