Two British soldiers killed in Afghanistan

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*Two British soldiers who were killed in Afghanistan were taking part in the same operation, it has been revealed.

Both were killed on Tuesay, one in a firefight with the Taliban, the other in an explosion while checking for mines. They are expected to be named tomorrow. The deaths take to 108 the number of British service personnel who have lost their lives since the start of operations in Afghanistan in November 2001. One of the soldiers, from 2nd Battalion the Parachute Regiment, died during an exchange of fire with insurgents in Helmand province. The second fatal incident came later when a soldier from the regiment's 4th Battalion, attached to 2nd Battalion, got out of a vehicle in the Upper Sangin Valley to check for mines. This was in support of the same operation, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) said. The soldier was killed by an improvised roadside bomb. Last week four soldiers were killed when a similar bomb ripped through their vehicle. Corporal Sarah Bryant, 26, of the Intelligence Corps, the first British woman to die on active service in Afghanistan, was among the casualties.

Meanwhile, the MoD unveiled a new 500,000 machine, the Apheresis, to help treat wounded troops in the field after a successful trial in Afghanistan and Iraq.

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