Afghanistan casualty named by MoD

Capt Stephen Healey was killed while on patrol

A British soldier killed while on patrol in Afghanistan has been named as Capt Stephen James Healey.

Capt Healey, from 1st Battalion, The Royal Welsh, was on patrol in the Nahr-e Saraj region of Helmand province when his vehicle was blown up by a bomb.

His commanding officer described him as "a brilliant Army officer and a truly outstanding individual".

His death brings the number of British service personnel killed in Afghanistan to 415.

Capt Healey, 29, and originally from Cardiff, was commanding the Combined Force Burma reconnaissance platoon.

After his vehicle was hit by a bomb, he was given immediate first aid before being flown to the military hospital at Camp Bastion where his death was confirmed.

He had been in the Army since 2007, and was most recently deployed to Afghanistan on 9 March 2012.

He was awarded a Mention in Dispatches in 2009 for his actions on Operation Herrick 11 as the Officer Commanding 4 Platoon, B Company.

His family paid tribute to him, saying: "Stephen was all you could wish for in a son, brother, uncle and friend. He will be sadly missed by us all. He managed to do more in his 30 years than most people do in a lifetime".

Lt Col Stephen Webb, the commanding officer of 1st Battalion The Royal Welsh (The Royal Welch Fusiliers), said he would be remembered "as one of the most charismatic and professional leaders any of us will have had the privilege of serving with."