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A UK soldier has been killed in a major offensive in Afghanistan, the Ministry of Defence has said. The solider, of 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards, was killed in an explosion in Nad-e-Ali District in Helmand Province. His next of kin have been informed. Some 4,000 British troops are involved in the Moshtarak offensive against the Taliban and have secured "key objectives", Army chiefs said. The operation is the biggest Afghan mission since the 2001 invasion. The soldier was killed by an explosion while in a vehicle patrol during the early stages of the operation. The death was one of the first among coalition forces in the offensive. A spokesman for Nato's Isaf force said a second coalition soldier was killed by small-arms fire. Prime Minister Gordon Brown offered his condolences to relatives and friends of the dead soldier, who he said was "very brave, very courageous" and died "making the ultimate sacrifice for our country". Mr Brown said he was "proud of the exceptional role that British forces have played" in the operation. He added that senior military figures had informed him that "they believe that this is a successful first phase in which the successes of the British forces have been exceptional". The prime minister said what had already been achieved was "significant" but "we have got to build on that in the next few weeks so that the Afghan population in this area feel a great deal safer". Lieutenant Colonel David Wakefield, a spokesman for Task Force Helmand, said the dead serviceman, who has not been named, "made the ultimate sacrifice doing his duty as part of this operation to clear the insurgents away". He went on to say that the soldier's "selfless commitment and courage will not be forgotten". In total some 15,000 American, British and Afghan soldiers are attacking the Taliban in the Nad-e-Ali and Marjah districts of Helmand Province. More than 1,200 British troops are currently involved on the ground. A further 3,000 British troops are also available if needed. A Ministry Defence spokesman said these troops were "providing wider support" such as logistics and moving equipment. British forces have focused on gaining control of targets in the Nad-e-Ali district of southern Afghanistan. Maj Gen Messenger, the chief of the defence staff's strategic communications officer, said the "key objectives" of the operation had been secured in the early hours of Saturday. He explained that "low numbers" of insurgents had been killed during the attacks, but added that efforts by British troops in the Chah-e-Anjir Triangle had been successful. However, he stressed that there was "no complacency", since it was widely understood that "this is the easy bit". He said: "The hard bit is what comes next in reassuring the public. This is all about winning the allegiance of the population. "The allegiance is not won in a day it must be won over time. It cannot be forced." Speaking at a press briefing at the Ministry of Defence's Whitehall headquarters the operation "cannot be seen as a campaign of us versus them [the Taliban]", although "it is absolutely about removing their ability to operate in areas". Earlier, the commander of the British forces in Afghanistan, Brigadier James Cowan, said the aim was to "not to crush the Taliban but to win the people".