Marine and soldier killed in Helmand as death toll hits 327
Two more British soldiers have died in Afghanistan, the Ministry of Defence said today.
A member of the 1st Battalion the Scots Guards was killed by small arms fire in the Lashkar Gah district of Helmand yesterday.
In a separate attack, a Royal Marine from 40 Commando died in an explosion while on foot patrol in the Sangin district of the province yesterday.
Their families have been informed.
The fatalities take the British military death toll in the nine-year conflict to 327.
Neither incident was linked to the ongoing operation to oust Taliban insurgents from a Helmand stronghold.
Hundreds of British troops are taking part in Operation Tor Shezada, or Black Prince, which entered its fourth day today.
UK troops and Afghan forces are clearing insurgents from Sayedebad to the south of Nad-e Ali, in parallel to similar operations by the United States Marine Corps in northern Marjah.
It has emerged that David Cameron's national security adviser Sir Peter Ricketts is expected to stand down next year. Sir Peter is believed to have taken the security post on a short-term basis.
Meanwhile, former army chief General Sir Richard Dannatt has revealed that he quit his position as a defence adviser to the Conservatives when David Cameron became Prime Minister.
He sparked controversy when he was appointed as an adviser during the Tories' autumn conference last year, just months after retiring as one of Britain's most senior military officers.
It was expected that Sir Richard would be made a peer and a defence minister in a Tory government.
But an attempt to appoint him to the Lords was blocked in April on the grounds that there should be a year's delay between him stepping down as head of the army and taking up a political role.
Defence Secretary Liam Fox is also believed to have been reluctant to give him a prominent role in his team.
Sir Richard said yesterday that he withdrew from advising Mr Cameron following the election, telling him that his "proper military advice" should come from the current chiefs of staff not from a "has-been like me".
