2 British soldiers die in Afghanistan

Two British soldiers have died in incidents in southern Afghanistan, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) said late on Friday. The first to be announced earlier was of a soldier from the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers. The MoD said the death at Camp Bastion in Helmand province, earlier on friday, was not thought to be the result of hostile action, though an investigation into the circumstances was continuing. Later, the MoD announced the death of a soldier from 28 Engineer Regiment, attached to 21 Engineer Regiment at Forward Operating Base Shawqat, Helmand province. A spokesman said: "The soldier was involved in a shooting incident at a forward operating base in the district of Nad-e Ali. A full investigation is ongoing and the circumstances are not being treated as a hostile action." The deaths bring the total number of members of UK forces to have died since operations in Afghanistan began in October 2001 to 432.