Two British soldiers have been killed in southern Afghanistan, the Ministry of Defence said yesterday.

They were named as Lieutenant Colonel Rupert Thorneloe, commanding officer of the 1st Battalion Welsh Guards, and Trooper Joshua Hammond of 2nd Royal Tank Regimen.

They were killed almost 8km north of Lashkar Gah in the troubled Helmand province.

Lt Col Thorneloe was the most senior serviceman to be killed in Afghanistan since operations began in October 2001.

Another six members of Nato forces were wounded in the attack in Helmand involving an improvised explosive device (IED).

A Ministry of Defence spokesman said the soldiers were killed while on Operation Panthers Claw near Lashkar Gah.

Spokesman for Task Force Helmand, Lieutenant Colonel Nick Richardson, said: “The loss of these brave soldiers has hit us all very deeply, we grieve for them at this very sad time.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with their families, friends and colleagues.”

Commenting on the casualties, Brigadier-General Eric Tremblay, spokesman for Nato's International Security Assistance Force (Isaf) in Afghanistan, said: “I wish to convey our most sincere sympathies to the family and friends of these soldiers.”

The deaths took the number of UK servicemen and women who have died in Afghanistan to 171.