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Two British soldiers have been killed by an explosion in Afghanistan — raising the death toll to match the fatalities of the Falklands War.
The blast yesterday brought the number of UK personnel to have died in Afghanistan since 2001 to 255, the Ministry of Defence said today.
The grim milestone came hours after Defence Secretary Bob Ainsworth warned of more British casualties during a “big push” against Taliban fighters.
Despite the mounting deaths, record numbers of Londoners are joining up, a senior recruiting officer said today.
The two men, from 1st Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland, were on foot patrol near Sangin, in Helmand province.
Mr Ainsworth said: “Our thoughts lie firmly with the families and friends of all the brave men and women fallen in Afghanistan.”
Lt Col David Wakefield, spokesman for Task Force Helmand, said: “Their bravery and fortitude will not be forgotten.” The MoD said the two soldiers were not involved in Operation Moshtarak, a major offensive to clear fighters from the town of Marjah.
Reader views (5)
Is it mandatory 255 brave men killed in Falklands, in 10 years operation in Afghanistan 255 men have killed. Why you don't ask your government to withdrawal the forces and stop to kill innocent peoples. My all prayers with UK armies, I pray the ladies of these soldiers and their children, soon they will met with their families.
- Sh Babar, Lahore, 05/05/2010 10:32
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Is it mandatory 255 brave men killed in Falklands, in 10 years operation in Afghanistan 255 men have killed. Why you don't ask your government to withdrawal the forces and stop to kill innocent peoples. My all prayers with UK armies, I pray the ladies of these soldiers and their children, soon they will met with their families.
- Sh Babar, Lahore, 05/05/2010 10:30
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Why is there such an emphasis on the death toll being "X" in Afghanistan, compared to the Falklands "Y"?
FI Ops in 1982 were conducted over 3-ish MONTH period and resulted in the documented losses of 255 British KIA. AFG Ops have been underway for 8/9-odd YEARS.
The casualty rates for the two (separate and very different conflicts: Scope, aim, duration, intensity) do NOT correlate in any way. I will not bore you with the statistics for measuring them, but suffice to say that the public should (and this is a big ask, with them being spoon fed by the media...) be able to see that 255 dead in, say, three months is a much higher "rate" than the same number killed in the better part of a DECADE of Ops.
Please can someone from the ES counter me with just what it is that they are trying to communicate apart from the fact that 255 brave souls have died in the service of Queen and Country?
- Matt, Aldershot, 09/02/2010 08:38
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and the sad legacy of the Falklands was that more soldiers took their own lives in the following years suffering from PTSD.
Let us now put in place measures that our troops mental welfare is well looked after on their return.
- Alan., Wimbledon, 08/02/2010 17:00
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Can someone explain why politicians want to cut defence spending whilst we're at war and our men are dying?????
- Amy, England, 08/02/2010 15:40
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