Paras suffer worst losses in any week since the Falklands

The latest losses mean five Paratroopers have been killed in the past seven days  -  the regiment's worst week of losses since the Falklands conflict a quarter of a century ago.

As tributes were paid to the young soldiers, U.S. officials revealed that the coalition death rate in Afghanistan exceeded that in Iraq for the first time last month, with 18 killed fighting the Taliban compared with 16 in Iraq.

L/Cpl James 'Jay' Bateman, 29, and Pte Jeff 'Doc' Doherty, who celebrated his 20th birthday two days before his death, were part of a foot patrol from C Company, 2nd Battalion the Parachute Regiment.

L/Cpl James Bateman and Private Jeff Doherty

They were ambushed by Taliban gunmen near the forward operating base north of Gereshk, on Thursday morning.

Their deaths took the British death toll in Afghanistan to 102.

It is the first time in more than nine months that the Taliban has shot dead any British troops in Afghanistan, with the insurgents preferring to use booby-traps and roadside bombs rather than confronting the better-armed and trained UK forces on the battlefield.

Commanders are now assessing whether the latest attack marks a shift back to the use of conventional tactics and large-scale attacks.

L/Cpl Bateman lived in Colchester with his wife Victoria, whom he married last year in Salisbury Cathedral.

He had previously served with the Paras in Iraq and Northern Ireland, and had hoped to join the elite Pathfinder Platoon.

In a statement, his parents described him as 'the light of our lives', and 'a hero to his brother and sisters'.

Pte Doherty, from Southam in Warwickshire, who was on his first operational tour, was also praised for his 'maturity, professionalism and innate talent for soldiering'.

Lt Col Joe O'Sullivan, speaking from Afghanistan, said: 'Much is said about how difficult our work is and how long it may take, but 2 Para is somewhat older than the Taliban.

Serviceman from the Parachute Regiment, pay their respects during a two minute silence outside the town hall in the centre of Colchester yesterday

'The Battalion has seen challenging times before and has always succeeded  -  no matter what odds have been stacked against it.'

On Sunday three other members of 2 Para were killed when a suicide bomber blew himself up alongside their patrol.

It marks the worst week of losses for the Paras since the regiment fought bloody battles against Argentinian forces at Goose Green and Mount Longdon, which saw 40 soldiers killed, during the 1982 Falklands Conflict.

Yesterday Prince Charles, Colonel-in-Chief of the Paras, spoke of his own anxieties as a parent when Prince Harry, a Household Cavalry officer, was deployed to Afghanistan earlier this year.

Visiting members of the Army Air Corps helicopter force at Wattisham, Suffolk, to present medals for their recent service in Afghanistan, he said: 'I know as a parent just what it's like being left behind, worrying what is happening to your son or daughter, so I do understand something of what families are putting up with, day-in, day-out.'

Ministers are set to announce within days that hundreds more British troops are set to be deployed to Afghanistan as reinforcements, taking the total to more than 8,000.