Two British soldiers were killed in an explosion in Southern Afghanistan, the Ministry of Defence said today.
The soldiers, from 3rd Battalion The Rifles, died in the blast near Sangin, Helmand Province, on Friday.
The MOD have informed their families but will not be releasing their names for 24 hours.
They were killed by an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) while on footpatrol.
Lieutenant Colonel David Wakefield, spokesman for Task Force Helmand, said “They were on a foot patrol protecting the local population from insurgents when the attack happened. Their boldness in the face of danger, and the sacrifice they have made, will be remembered.”
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The soldiers are the 248th and 249th British military personnel to be killed in Afghanistan since the start of operations in 2001.
The announcement of their deaths came as Foreign Secretary David Miliband arrived in Kabul for talks on the country’s future.
His visit is in advance of a special conference to discuss the exit strategy for Afghanistan, being held in London on 28 January
The conference will be used for setting President Hamid Karzai targets to train 50,000 Afghan troops and address concerns over political corruption in his government, facilitating the withdrawal of western troops.
Speaking to MPs before he left, Miliband said: “The politics is every bit as important as the military in this conflict, because success will not be measured by the number of insurgents killed or captured, but by the number of Afghans living peacefully within the constitution.”