British And American Soldiers Die After Being Shot In Afghanistan

British and American soldiers die after being shot in Afghanistan < br /> 2012-04-28 03:06:50 GMT+7 (ICT) KABUL, AFGHANISTAN (BNO NEWS) -- Two coalition service members, one British soldier and one American soldier, have died of their injuries after being shot by insurgents in eastern and southern Afghanistan, officials said on Friday. It raises the number of coalition troops killed so far this year to 130.The British Ministry of Defense said one of its soldiers was shot and killed Friday while on patrol in the Nahr-e-Saraj district of Helmand province, which is located in Afghanistan's south. The soldier from 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards was serving as part of Combined Force Nahr-e-Saraj (North) and was on a patrol to disrupt insurgent movements in the area."The thoughts and prayers of all in the Task Force and Combined Force are with his family and friends at this tragic time," said Task Force Helmand spokesman Major Ian Lawrence. He said the soldier's family have been informed and they have asked for a 24-hour period of grace before further details are released.Also on Friday, the U.S. Department of Defense said 22-year-old Specialist Jason K. Edens, of Franklin, Tennessee, died Thursday at a hospital in Bethesda, Maryland of wounds sustained on April 15 when insurgents attacked his unit with small arms fire in Afghanistan's Laghman province. Edens was assigned to the 1st Squadron, 13th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division at Fort Bliss in Texas.The deaths on Thursday and Friday raise the number of coalition troops killed in Afghanistan so far this year to 130, most of them American and British service members, according to official figures. Three U.S. service members were killed on Thursday when an improvised explosive device (IED) exploded in Afghanistan's east.A total of 566 ISAF troops were killed in Afghanistan in 2011, down from 711 in 2010. A majority of the fallen troops were American and were killed in the country's south, which is plagued by IED attacks on troops and civilians.There are currently more than 130,000 ISAF troops in Afghanistan, including some 90,000 U.S. troops and more than 9,500 British soldiers. U.S. President Barack Obama previously ordered a drawdown of 23,000 U.S. troops later this year, and foreign combat troops are due to leave Afghanistan by the end of 2014.

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