Two more British soldiers have been killed in southern Afghanistan, bringing the death toll to nine in just nine days.

The Ministry of Defence said that the two troopers were killed yesterday in separate incidents in Helmand Province, where battle groups are engaged in a major offensive against Taleban insurgents.

In the first incident, yesterday afternoon, a soldier from 4th Battalion The Rifles was killed in a contact explosion whilst on a foot patrol near Nad Ali.

Yesterday evening a soldier from Princess of Wales’s Royal Regiment attached to 1st Battalion Welsh Guards was killed as a result of a gunshot wound in an engagement with insurgent forces near Laskhar Gah.

The MoD said that the incident took place as part of Operation Panchai Palang - Panther's Claw - a major assault against the Taleban ahead of next month's Afghan elections.

Lieutenant-Colonel Nick Richardson, a spokesman for Task Force Helmand, 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.”

Next of kin have been informed and have asked for a 24-hour period of grace before further details are released.

Since Operation Panther’s Claw was launched in mid-June, 10 soldiers have been killed, including four from the Welsh Guards. It is the most sustained loss of life for UK forces in either the Iraq or Afghanistan campaigns.

The high casualties have been a bitter blow for the British force in Helmand, although with 3,000 troops from three UK battle groups engaged in the biggest offensive against the Taleban since 2006, fatalities had been expected.

A total of 178 British servicemen and women have now been killed in Afghanistan since the start of operations in October 2001, just one fewer than in the Iraq campaign, which lasted six years. Most of the deaths in Afghanistan have taken place since 2006.

The first real signs of success from the operation have also begun to emerge with the announcement that Babaji, a Taleban stronghold fives miles north of Lashkar Gah, the provincial capital, appears to have been seized. The Taleban are reported to have withdrawn from the town.

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