Kosovo peacekeeper shot dead

PRISTINA, Yugoslavia -- An investigation has been launched after a British soldier on peacekeeping duties in Kosovo died in a shooting incident.

The soldier, whose name, age and home town have not been released, was on duty with a team protecting a Serb Orthodox church in the centre of the provincial capital of Pristina, the UK Ministry of Defence said.

Captain Ollie Major, a spokesman for the British peacekeepers in the volatile southern Yugoslav province, told the Press Association: "The soldier had been injured as a result of a gunshot wound.

"I'm sorry to say the soldier later died."

Foreign Office minister Peter Hain said it did not appear that the soldier died as a result of a hostile act.

He told the BBC: "Obviously this is a tragedy for his family and for him clearly, but it doesn't appear to have been as a result of a hostile act.

"He died as a result of wounds to the head but it wasn't in action or from a sniper. The exact circumstances are still to be determined."

Churches targeted

A number of British military personnel have been killed while on peacekeeping duties in the Balkans.

In April this year, RAF Flight Lieutenant Mark Maguire, 31, and Captain Andrew Crous (correct), 28, of the Army Air Corps, were killed when an RAF helicopter crashed on the Kosovo-Macedonia border.

The same month Trooper Adam Slater, 20, died when the vehicle he was travelling in struck a mine on the border between Kosovo and Macedonia.

In August Sapper Ian Collins, 22, died after he was struck by a lump of concrete while travelling in a military vehicle in Macedonia.

British troops have been carrying out peacekeeping duties in Kosovo as part of the international K-For presence since June 1999 after 78 days of NATO airstrikes.

The alliance launched the air war to force former Yugoslav President, and Serb nationalist, Slobodan Milosevic to end his crackdown on ethnic Albanians.

Part of the peacekeepers' duties have included protecting Serb Orthodox churches, which have been a target for Albanian militants. About 100 churches have been destroyed since Belgrade relinquished control of Kosovo.