Pictured: Two paratroopers who died within 10 hours of each other during same operation in Afghanistan

The deaths on Tuesday mean 11 UK troops have lost their lives in action in Helmand Province in the space of 17 days, seven of them from the same unit - the 2nd Battalion, the Parachute Regiment, which has borne the brunt of the fighting.

One of the men killed was a senior non-commissioned officer who was shot dead during a dawn battle with Taliban insurgents, while the second was a TA reservist Paratrooper, attached to 2 Para, who was killed by a booby-trap bomb as he searched for hidden mines.

Hero: Sergeant Major Michael Williams, one of the two British soldiers killed on Tuesday while taking part in the same operation in Afghanistan

Killed in action: Private Joe Whittaker

Britain's death toll in Afghanistan now stands at 108, after a string of heavy losses this month. Last week a massive roadside bomb killed four soldiers including Cpl Sarah Bryant - the first British woman to be killed in Afghanistan - and three members of the SAS.

Two weeks ago senior British commanders were privately expressing the hope that the traditional summer fighting season in Afghanistan had been slow to start this year, and that the Taliban may have lost much of its ability to take on British forces, following heavy losses.

That optimism has now largely faded, and UK forces are braced for another summer of intense fighting in the former Taliban stronghold of Helmand Province.

The latest fatalities came as around 190 Paras launched a helicopter-borne assault north of the hotbed town of Sangin, in the early hours of Tuesday morning, supported by Apache helicopter gunships and artillery units.

Some two-and-a-half hours after the fighting patrol began the first soldier - a senior non-commissioned officer - was killed by enemy small-arms fire.

According to MOD officials British troops defeated the Taliban fighters, and there were no other UK casualties.

The coffin of Private Charles David Murray who died alongside colleagues from 2 Para on June 8, is carried by fellow soldiers at his funeral service this week

The second casualty came some 10 hours later as the troops swept south around Sangin. The TA soldier from the 4 Para reservist unit, was searching the route for mines when he is thought to have triggered a booby-trap bomb set by the Taliban.

The two men are expected to be formally named this morning. Their next of kin have been informed.

Yesterday officers at the Parachute Regiment's headquarters in Colchester, Essex, paid tribute to the latest victims.

Regimental adjutant Major Aidan Coogan said: '2 Para continue to conduct operations in the most difficult and demanding of theatres.

Sombre: People pay their respects as the bodies of the four soldiers killed in Afghanistan last week, including the first British woman, pass through the streets

'Much has been said that it was the worst week for the Regiment since the Falklands campaign of 1982.

'It is, therefore, appropriate to remember that it was this campaign which was the inspiration for many of our current soldiers to join the Parachute Regiment.

'It was the ethos, courage and bravery of the soldiers in the Falklands that the soldiers in Afghanistan aspire to now and it is to their testament that today they have not failed to conduct themselves to the same standards.'

Around 80 reservist soldiers from 4 Para are currently serving in Afghanistan, mostly filling gaps in the ranks of regular units, fighting alongside the full-time counterparts. Despite being 'part-time' soldiers many have completed a number of combat tours and are highly experienced.