Two British soldiers killed in Afghanistan

Two British soldiers were killed while on foot patrol in southern Afghanistan on Thursday, bring the total military deaths in the country since 2001 to 102, the Ministry of Defence said.

The two, from the 2nd Battalion the Parachute Regiment, were shot dead in an ambush near their base in Helmand Province. A third soldier was injured in the attack.

Three other soldiers from the same regiment were killed on Sunday in a suicide attack.

The ministry said in a statement the men killed on Thursday had been on a routine foot patrol in the Upper Gereshk Valley when they came under fire.

"A third soldier was also injured in the incident. They were evacuated to Camp Bastion medical facility where the injured soldier is receiving treatment for his wounds," it said.