Two British soldiers were killed by a roadside bomb in southern Afghanistan just six days before they were due to return home, the defence ministry said Thursday. The blast on Wednesday hit the troops from 1st Battalion Irish Guards as they returned from an operation with Afghan and Danish troops in the Nahr-e Saraj District of Helmand province, it said.
The deaths bring to 362 the number of British troops killed since operations in Afghanistan began in October 2001 to topple the Taliban regime. They were the 12th and 13th British fatalities this year. During the mission they had "successfully disrupted insurgent activity and searched a number of compounds," said Lieutenant Colonel Tim Purbrick, spokesman for Task Force Helmand.