Enemy gunfire kills another two British paratroopers in Afghanistan

Two British paratroopers were killed in Afghanistan yesterday, in the week the total death toll rose above 100.

The soldiers, from 2nd Battalion, the Parachute Regiment, were on foot patrol when they came under enemy fire.

A third soldier was also injured in the incident and is being treated for his wounds at Camp Bastion after being rescued by helicopter.

The two paras, who have not been named, are the fourth and fifth to be killed in the last five days, taking the death toll of British troops to 102. Three others were killed by a suicide bomber on Sunday morning.

Yesterday's victims are the first British soldiers to be killed by enemy gunfire in Afghanistan in nine months. The Taliban usually avoids such conflict because it invariably comes off worst, choosing instead to harass the British with mines and roadside bombs.

According to the Ministry of Defence, the soldiers were conducting a routine foot patrol near the Forward Operating Base Gibraltar in the Upper Gereshk Valley in Helmand.

The deaths have rocked the regiment's garrison town of Colchester, Essex, with the town's MP describing the latest losses as 'absolutely devastating'.

Liberal Democrat MP for Colchester, Bob Russell said: 'This is absolutely desperate news, it's devastating.

'We in Colchester have tremendous pride in our soldiers, we regard them as our own soldiers despite them coming from different areas of the country.

'Of course our thoughts go out to the families of those who have lost loved ones.'

The Parachute Regiment has a long a proud history but this week's fatalities have resulted in what is believed to be the regiment's biggest loss of life since the Falklands War in the 1980s.

The 'Paras' are an elite force set up by the British Army at the request of Winston Churchill.

The airborne infantry element of the Army, the regiment formed during the Second World War.

Designed as shock troops, they were dropped behind German front lines to capture key positions and then hold them until the rest of the invasion force could link up with them.

The Parachute Regiment further distinguished itself during the 1982 Falklands conflict, where they fought and won several key battles.

The Paras found fame for their efforts during Operation Overlord in Normandy, France in June 1944.

The airborne troops were given the task of securing the flanks of the landing beaches in Normandy.

Other notable contributions include Operation Market Garden in the Netherlands in September of the same year.

Airborne troops were dropped 100 miles behind the German front lines in an attempt to create a path across the Netherlands including the bridge over the Rhine at Arnhem.

Mr Russell said that the soldiers had not died in vain.

He explained: 'I have been with the chairman of the Helmand Provincial Council in Parliament.

'He expressed condolences for the three soldiers from the regiment who died earlier this week and wanted people in this country to know that the vast majority in Afghanistan value what our troops are doing.

'And without them the Afghan people would not get their own independent army or police force.

'And the only future (they) have is to rid (Afghanistan) of the Taliban.'

Mr Russell added that more European countries needed to send troops into Afghanistan.

He said: 'I don't want a British troop withdrawal, but the rest of the civilised world is not doing all it should.

'Only Denmark, Holland, the Czech Republic and Estonia have troops there.

'Where are France, Germany, Italy and Spain? We can't expect Britain to take the brunt for Europe.'