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Two British marines killed in Afghan explosion

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

London, May 28, IRNA -- Two Royal Marines have been killed in an explosion in the Nad Ali district of Helmand province in Afghanistan, Britain's Ministry of Defence (MoD) announced Saturday.

The British soldiers were said to have been on patrol 'disrupting insurgent activity' when they were hit by a blast from an improvised explosive device on Friday.

The deaths come after another UK soldier was killed in an explosion in Nahr-e Saraj district of Helmand on Monday and bring the number of British military deaths in Afghanistan to 368 since the overthrow of the Taliban regime in 2001.

On Thursday, Britain's former ambassador to Afghanistan Sir Sherard Cowper-Coles stepped up his criticism of the 10 year old war, attacking the conduct of the US commander, General David Petraeus and describing the future CIA chief's tactics as counter-productive and 'profoundly wrong'.

'He has increased the violence, trebled the number of special forces raids by British, American, Dutch and Australian special forces going out killing Taliban commanders, and there has been a lot more rather regrettable boasting from the military about the body count,' Cowper-Coles warned.

'It is profoundly wrong and it's not conducive to a stable political settlement,' he said, adding that huge increase in the amount of ordnance dropped from the air on Afghanistan adds to the overall impression it is a place much more violent, much more dangerous.

A high-ranking group of seven former military, political and diplomatic leaders in March sent an open letter to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, calling for a fresh approach for an international process to secure a political settlement to the conflict in Afghanistan.

“First, the international community must endorse a diplomatic strategy for addressing not only the drivers of conflict inside Afghanistan but also its regional and international dimensions,” said the signatories, who included former British foreign secretary David Miliband and former Nato secretary general Lord Robertson.

“Second, this must be translated into a tangible international process with strong backing from the UN Security Council, its member states and other international bodies who can offer their good offices, such as the OIC (Organisation of the Islamic Conference),” their letter said.

A corresponding call was also made by a group of eight aid agencies, including Oxfam, Christian Aid and Afghanaid, when joining together to launch a new campaign for a comprehensive peace process in Afghanistan and for better protection of civilians.

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Islamic Republic News Agency/IRNA NewsCode: 30407111