Feb 8, 2010, 14:28 GMT
Kabul - Two NATO-led British troops were killed by a roadside bomb in southern Afghanistan, the alliance military and British Defence Ministry said Monday.
The attack took place Sunday afternoon in Sangin district of southern province of Helmand when the soldiers were on foot patrol in the area, the British Defence Ministry said on its website. The latest deaths brought to 255 the total number of British soldiers killed in Afghanistan since late 2001, the year that witnessed the ouster of Taliban regime by US-led military invasion.
Sunday's fatalities brought the death toll to the same number killed in Falklands war. During the 74-day war between the Britain and Argentinian forces in Falkland Island in 1982 a total of 255 British and 649 Argentine soldiers lost their lives.
'I was deeply saddened to hear that the 255th UK serviceman paid the ultimate price on operations in Afghanistan,' Afghan Defence Minister, Abdul Rahim Wardak said in statement issued by his office.
'I look forward to the day when the Afghan security forces are able to take full responsibility for Afghanistan's security,' he said.
'We are trying very hard to make this day happen as soon as possible...but for now we continue to need the support of our international friends and partners, including the UK,' he added.
Deaths among the NATO and US soldiers are on the rise in the country as the more than 110,000 international troops are stepping up their assaults on Taliban fighters in a bid to turn the tide of the over eight-year war.
A total of 59 NATO soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan so far this year, according to ICasualty.org, an independent website that compiles military casualties in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Roadside bombs have claimed about 90 per cent of this year's military fatalities.
Due to mounting casualties among NATO soldiers, the public support is waning in the Western countries, particularly in Europe. NATO countries have recently endorsed a plan to increase the total size of Afghan forces to 300,000 by next year in a bid to draw down the number of their forces in the country.
Sunday's bombing took place in the same province, where thousands of Afghan and NATO troops are preparing to soon launch their biggest offensive against Taliban strongholds in Marjah district of the province.
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