An Oxfordshire soldier has been injured after a grenade was thrown at international peace-keeping troops in Afghanistan.

Rifleman Matt Brain, of Kingsfield Crescent, Witney, suffered minor shrapnel wounds to his right hand after a surprise attack on the Army camp he was helping to guard.

He is among the Royal Green Jacket soldiers from the Territorial Army base near The Slade, Headington, who are due to complete a 13-week mission at the end of May.

They have been in the capital Kabul, supporting the community's efforts to rebuild their city after the ruling Taliban regime was driven out by international troops following the September 11 terrorist attacks.

Mr Brain, 27, was one of the soldiers who sent messages home to their families in Witney via the Oxford Mail last month. He said he was not concerned about terror attacks.

He said at the time: "I think I'm doing a good job, which I'm enjoying and getting a tremendous amount of satisfaction from. The people are great, so don't worry about me.

"Kabul people have been really friendly and appreciate what we're doing for them."

Mr Brain was helping to guard the base Camp Souter on May 15, when a man walked up to the gates and threw a grenade towards the guard posts. It is the first time the camp has been attacked directly.

Soldiers around the guard posts ducked after a warning call was made.

But Rifleman Brain was struck by shrapnel. The wound was minor, but he was given leave to call his family to let them know he was safe.

Adjutant Matt Grist, of the Royal Rifle Volunteers, said: "A local individual approached the guard gate area and threw a grenade at 6.25pm local time. The attack was seen by a soldier who shouted 'grenade', at which everyone took cover, including Matt, but as it went off, he received an injury."

The attacker escaped on foot, but was later caught by other soldiers on their way back to the camp who had been alerted.

He has been handed over to the Afghanistan authorities, who are investigating. Mr Grist added: "Everyone, including Rifleman Brain, did the right thing. If they hadn't reacted properly it could have been a lot more serious."

Mr Grist said the motives remained unclear.

He continued: "One could suppose he was motivated either by a dislike for what he might have seen as occupying foreign forces, or by religious fundamentalism. Kabul is a safer place thanks to peace-keeping forces, but it's also a place where weapons are freely available.

"This attacker was an individual who got hold of a grenade and decided to have a go, not an organised terrorist attack."

Rifleman Brain's family was not available to comment.