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Two UK soldiers die in bomb blast | |
(30 minutes later) | |
Two British soldiers have been killed by a suspected suicide bomber while on patrol with the Afghan army. | Two British soldiers have been killed by a suspected suicide bomber while on patrol with the Afghan army. |
The men, from the 3rd Battalion, The Rifles, were caught in the blast near Sangin in Helmand on Tuesday afternoon. Their families have been told. | |
They were on foot at the time of the explosion in which two Afghan army soldiers were also killed. | They were on foot at the time of the explosion in which two Afghan army soldiers were also killed. |
A total of 239 UK service personnel have died in Afghanistan since 2001, including 102 so far this year. | |
The soldiers were on a joint patrol with the Afghan National Army and the Nato-led International Security Assistance Force. | |
The bomber is not believed to be a member of the Afghan army. | The bomber is not believed to be a member of the Afghan army. |
'Deep sadness' | |
British forces spokesman in Afghanistan, Lieutenant Colonel David Wakefield, said: "It is with deep sadness I must inform you that two British soldiers were killed this afternoon near Sangin in northern Helmand province. | British forces spokesman in Afghanistan, Lieutenant Colonel David Wakefield, said: "It is with deep sadness I must inform you that two British soldiers were killed this afternoon near Sangin in northern Helmand province. |
"They were both from 3rd Battalion, The Rifles. They will be sorely missed by us, their comrades, but their sacrifice will not be forgotten." | "They were both from 3rd Battalion, The Rifles. They will be sorely missed by us, their comrades, but their sacrifice will not be forgotten." |
The deaths came on the day the body of the 100th British fatality in Afghanistan this year, Lance Corporal Adam Drane, was returned to the UK. | |
They also coincided with a government announcement of defence cuts to help fund military resources for Afghanistan, including the purchase of 22 new Chinook helicopters. | |
The first of 500 extra British troops to be deployed to Afghanistan have also arrived in the country. |