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Two UK troops killed in Afghanistan

Two British soldiers have been killed in southern Afghanistan as the number of UK deaths since the start of military operation in 2001 reached 324.

The British Ministry of Defense said the two soldiers were shot dead in Lashkar Gar, in Helmand Province on Wednesday. One British soldier was also wounded in the incident.

“In the courageous and selfless act of attempting to evacuate an injured colleague, they themselves were shot and fatally wounded,” AFP quoted military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel James Carr-Smith as saying.

Britain has around 9,500 troops in Afghanistan.

Some 400 foreign soldiers have been killed in combat in the first half of 2010, making this year the deadliest so far for US-led forces in Afghanistan.

There has been an upsurge in attacks against US-led foreign troops and government forces in Afghanistan over the past months.

The violent incidents and rising fatalities in Afghanistan come despite a massive troop surge in the war-torn country.

In an interview with BBC Radio after talks on Tuesday with US President Barack Obama, British Prime Minister David Cameron expressed hope that some British forces could start pulling out of Afghanistan as early as next year.

Obama has said he plans to start bringing US soldiers home in July 2011.

Asked if the UK could do the same, Cameron said, “Yes, we can but it should be based on the conditions on the ground.”

“I hope that with the strategy we have, the build-up of the Afghan army, the transitioning of districts of provinces, as the president said, it will be possible to bring some troops home,” he said.

The new British premier said the British public should be clear that, by 2015, the UK would not have “combat troops or large numbers” in Afghanistan.

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