02/08/2010

More Soldiers Die In Afghanistan Conflict

Two more British troops have paid the ultimate price this past weekend after Taliban forces shot dead one British soldier and killed another in a bomb attack in Afghanistan's southern Helmand province.

The Ministry of Defence said on Monday that one of the soldiers, from the 1st Battalion Scots Guards, was killed by small arms fire in Lashkar Gah district while the second died when an improvised explosive device went off in the Sangin region while the Royal Marine, from 40 Commando Royal Marines was on a foot patrol on Sunday.

Next of kin have been told in both cases.

Their deaths bring the overall number of British troops who have been killed since the US-led invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 to 327.

It also emerged that neither of the fatalities were taking part in a major new British offensive called Operation Tor Shezada, or 'Black Prince', which began last Friday and is centred around Sayedebad, also in Helmand.

Around 30,000 international troops are deployed in the southern Taliban heartlands of Helmand and Kandahar provinces.

(BMcC/GK)

Related UK National News Stories
Click here for the latest headlines.

16 October 2008
Household Cavalry Soldier Killed In Afghanistan
A British soldier has been killed while on patrol in the southern province of Afghanistan, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has announced. The soldier died after an explosion 14 miles north of the Taliban stronghold of Helmand yesterday. The MoD said the soldier had served in D Squadron of the Household Cavalry regiment.
15 September 2008
Para Killed In Afghanistan Named
A British soldier killed while on routine patrol in the Taliban stronghold of Helmand Province, in southern Afghanistan, has been named as Lance Corporal Nicky Mason. The Ministry of Defence (MoD) confirmed the 26-year-old's death today, bringing the total of British lives lost in the conflict to 120, since 2001.
28 May 2009
Soldier Dies In Southern Afghanistan
A British soldier has been killed in an explosion in southern Afghanistan, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has said. The serviceman from the 2nd Battalion the Mercian Regiment was on an operation near Garmsir in Helmand Province, and next of kin have been informed.
02 July 2009
Two UK Troops Die In Afghan Blast
A further two British soldiers have been killed in southern Afghanistan. The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has confirmed they died in an explosion in Helmand province. Another six members of Nato forces were also wounded in the attack on Wednesday involving an improvised explosive device (IED).
20 September 2010
Two Dead As British Troops Leave Sangin
British troops have now left one of the deadliest districts in southern Afghanistan, handing over responsibility to American forces - with two more tragic fatalities to mark the past weekend. Around 1,000 British troops in Sangin are to redeploy to central Helmand.