The UK Ministry of Defense has confirmed that two British soldiers died in Afghanistan yesterday.

Two British soldiers have been killed on operations in southern Afghanistan, the Ministry of Defense announced Friday.

One serviceman was from the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, serving with the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards was killed by a bomb on an operation in the Geresh valley area of Helmand province whilst trying to detain an insurgent.

The soldier was working to recover a vehicle, which had been damaged in an explosion when he was fatally wounded.

The second soldier, from the Parachute Regiment, was hit by small arms fire in a separate incident.

The deaths bring to 373 the number of British troops killed since operations in Afghanistan began in October 2001. Of these, at least 329 were killed through hostile action. Some 25 British troops have died this year.

Britain has about 9,500 troops in Afghanistan. Prime Minister David Cameron has said they will be withdrawn by 2015 once responsibility for security is handed over to Afghan forces.

Speaking Thursday at the end of a two-day visit to Afghanistan, defense minister Liam Fox said the handover of security control in Helmand's capital Lashkar Gah late next month would not mean British troops coming home early.

He said Britain was on track to complete its mission by the end of 2014.

"As Afghan capacity grows, the role of British and other international troops will evolve, moving from principally combat to training and support roles," Fox added.