British soldiers killed in Afghanistan named
Updated on 06 July 2009
Two of the latest British casualties in Afghanistan have been named by the Ministry of Defence.
Lance Corporal David Dennis, of The Light Dragoons, and Private Robert Laws, of 2nd Battalion The Mercian Regiment, died in separate attacks over the weekend while on Operation Panther's Claw near Gereshk in Helmand.
Private Laws died during a rocket propelled grenade attack while Lance Corporal Dennis was killed by a contact explosion.
A third soldier from the 1st Battalion Welsh Guards, who has not yet been named, was killed while taking part in a "deliberate operation" in the area.
Lieutenant Colonel Nick Richardson, a spokesman for Task Force Helmand, said of his death: "It is with extreme sadness that I must report the death of a brave soldier. He laid down his life for his country and for the good people of Afghanistan.
"We grieve for his loss and join with his family and friends to mourn his passing; he will always be remembered."
Meanwhile, two soldiers killed in Afghanistan last week - including the most senior British officer to be killed since the Falklands War - have been returned to British soil.
Lieutenant Colonel Rupert Thorneloe, the commanding officer of the 1st Battalion Welsh Guards, was killed in a blast which hit his Viking armoured vehicle near Lashkar Gah in Helmand province, southern Afghanistan, on Wednesday.
Trooper Joshua Hammond, 18, of 2nd Royal Tank Regiment, also died in the explosion.
Operation Panther's Claw was launched to drive the Taliban out of strongholds in and around Babaji, north of Lashkar Gah, Helmand.
Last week, nearly 4,000 newly-arrived US Marines and 650 Afghan troops launched a massive pre-dawn operation in Taliban-controlled areas of Helmand.
The operation - named Khanjar, or Strike of the Sword - is aimed at clearing insurgents from the region ahead of Afghanistan's presidential election in August.
The number of UK service personnel killed in the country since the start of operations in October 2001 stands at 174.
All families have been informed.
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