2 more British soldiers killed in Afghanistan
- 00:03:46
- ITN
2 more British soldiers killed in Afghanistan
Two more British soldiers have been killed in separate incidents in Afghanistan's Helmand Province. A soldier from 4th Battalion The Rifles was killed in an explosion while on foot patrol near Nad Ali, on Thursday, July 9. Later, a soldier from Princess of Wales' Royal Regiment attached to 1st Battalion Welsh Guards died as a result of a gunshot wounds. The incident took place as part of Operation Panchai Palang (Panthers Claw) - a major assault against the Taliban in Helmand Province ahead of next month's Afghan elections - in an engagement with insurgent forces near Lashkar Gah. Next of kin have been informed. Spokesman for Task Force Helmand, Lieutenant Colonel Nick Richardson said: "These fine British soldiers paid the ultimate sacrifice and their memory will live with us forever. "We mourn their loss and our thoughts and prayers are with their families and friends at this very sad time. We know that their deaths were not in vain." Meanwhile, the bodies of five British soldiers killed over the past week have been returned to the UK. Four of them died taking part in Panther's Claw. Lance Corporal David Dennis, 29, from Llanelli, South Wales, of the Light Dragoons, and Private Robert Laws, 18, from Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, of 2nd Battalion the Mercian Regiment, died in separate incidents in Helmand on Saturday. Lance Corporal Dane Elson, 22, originally from Zimbabwe but now living in Bridgend, South Wales, of the 1st Battalion Welsh Guards, was killed in an explosion on Sunday. Captain Ben Babington-Browne, 27, from Maidstone, Kent, of 22 Engineer Regiment, Royal Engineers, died in a helicopter crash in Zabul Province on Monday. And Trooper Christopher Whiteside, 20, from Blackpool, of The Light Dragoons, died in a blast caused by an improvised explosive device near Gereshk in Helmand on Tuesday. The C17 aircraft carrying their coffins earlier arrived at RAF Lyneham, Wiltshire, where a repatriation ceremony was held. Hearses carrying the men's coffins will later pass along the high street of nearby Wootton Bassett, which is expected to be lined with hundreds of mourners. Crowds have appeared spontaneously along the route to pay their respects since the bodies of British service personnel started being brought home through RAF Lyneham in 2007. The procession will then continue to Oxford's John Radcliffe Hospital. A total of 178 British servicemen and women have been killed in Afghanistan since the start of operations in October 2001.
ITN | July 10, 2009
