On 9 November, Private Matthew Thornton, aged 28, from 4th Battalion The Yorkshire Regiment (4 YORKS) was a Territorial Army soldier who deployed to Afghanistan with Support Company, 1st Battalion The Yorkshire Regiment (1 YORKS), as an element of Combined Force Lashkar Gah (The Queen's Royal Hussars Battle Group) in October 2011. He operated out of Checkpoint Khoorashan in the Babaji area at the northern tip of the Lashkar Gah district. Pvt Thornton's group and another multiple were patrolling to the north of Checkpoint Loy Mandeh in order to engage with the Afghan people and to develop a better understanding of their area. During the patrol his multiple was engaged by small arms fire and grenades. While he was manoeuvring and returning fire he was caught in the blast from an improvised explosive device and tragically was killed.