Taliban take blame for attack on British

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KABUL, Afghanistan, March 8 (UPI) -- A member of the Taliban in Afghanistan said the Islamic militant group was proud of an attack that left six British soldiers dead in Kandahar province.

The British Minister of Defense confirmed that six soldiers were killed by an explosion in Kandahar. They were initially declared missing but presumed dead.

Authorities in Helmand province told the BBC on condition of anonymity the soliders were killed by a bomb planted recently. An unidentified Taliban member took responsibility for the attack, telling the BBC the group was "very proud of it."

The Taliban, in a statement, said the "invaders" were "incinerated" by the blast and that's why authorities initially described the soldiers as missing.

A separate statement added that six other "invading troops" were killed by a land mine planted by insurgents. The bomb, the statement read, had "blown their tank to pieces." There was no independent verification of the alleged attack in Ghazni province. Their nationalities weren't identified in the Taliban's statement.

British officials expressed condolences after the attacks were confirmed. This week's incident brought the death toll for British forces operating in Afghanistan to more than 400 since the war began in 2001.

International forces are looking to hand over security responsibility to the Afghan military by 2014.