Two more British soldiers died in explosions in southern Afghanistan today, bringing the total killed in the bloodiest month for British soldiers in the campaign to 22, the Ministry of Defence said.
One soldier was killed when a vehicle taking part in "Panther's Claw", an operation against Taliban insurgents in the southern province of Helmand, was hit by an explosion, the ministry said in a statement.
A second soldier was killed by an explosion while on foot patrol in the Sangin district of Helmand, it said. He was not involved in "Panther's Claw".
Britain earlier announced the end of the five-week offensive, saying it had succeeded in driving militants out of population centres ahead of Afghan elections next month.
A presidential spokesman said earlier Afghanistan had struck a ceasefire deal with Taliban insurgents in a remote province, the first move of its kind amid an escalation of violence ahead of elections next month.
The truce was reached on Saturday in northwestern Badghis province, near the border with Turkmenistan, spokesman Seyamak Herawi said. The government wanted to make similar deals with the Taliban in other parts of the country in a bid to improve security for the August 20th presidential election, he said.
Meanwhile, the British foreign secretary was scheduled to outline the Allied strategy in Afghanistan today. David Miliband will make a speech called Afghanistan - the road to the future, to members of Nato in Brussels.
Since the start of operations in 2001, 189 British service personnel have died.
Last week the head of the armed forces warned that British troops in Afghanistan faced more tough fighting — and more casualties — in the weeks ahead.
Air Chief Marshal Sir Jock Stirrup, the Chief of the Defence Staff, said soldiers taking part in the Operation Panther’s Claw offensive had faced an “enormous battle” to break through the Taliban defences.
Reuters