Britain's Ministry of Defence on Saturday announced the deaths of two of its soldiers killed by a roadside bomb in southern Afghanistan, where one more foreign soldier and 11 Taliban were also killed in separate incidents. The British soldiers, serving in Nato's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), died in the blast near Sangin in Helmand Province on Friday.
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." A further Nato soldier was killed in similar attack in the same region on Saturday, the Nato command in Kabul said in a statement.
The statement did not disclose the third soldier's nationality. Most of the troops stationed in the southern provinces are from Britain, Canada, the Netherlands and the United States. Separately, ISAF said 11 insurgents were likely killed by Afghan and Nato forces conducting an operation in Nad Ali district of southern province of Helmand on Saturday night.
"The initial assessment ... resulted in 11 insurgents killed," the statement said, adding that a large amount of opium and a small cache of weapons were seized during the operation. The district chief for Bak in the south-eastern province of Khost was injured when his vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb on Saturday, ISAF said.
"Initial reports indicate he sustained minor injuries," the statement said. Disclosure of the British soldiers' deaths came as British Foreign Secretary David Miliband arrived in Afghanistan Saturday for a two-day information-gathering visit ahead of the international London conference on Afghanistan, scheduled for January 28.
Miliband planned to meet with Afghan political and military leaders as well as visit with British soldiers. US President Barack Obama's envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan, Richard Holbrooke, also met with President Hamid Karzai Saturday, discussing preparations for the London conference, Karzai's office said.
This month so far, 18 foreign soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan. In 2009, the deadliest year for international forces since 2001, 520 Nato troops were killed. A total of 249 British soldiers have been killed while fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan since 2001.