LONDON: Two British soldiers were killed on Thursday when a roadside bomb hit their armoured vehicle in southern Afghanistan, the defence ministry in London said.

The soldiers from the 1st The Queen's Dragoons Guards were on a security patrol in the Yakchal region of Nahr-e Saraj, in troubled Helmand province when they were killed, it said in a statement.

Their deaths bring to 388 the number of British troops killed since operations in Afghanistan began in October 2001. Of these, at least 343 were killed in combat.

They are the 39th and 40th British soldiers to die this year in Afghanistan, and their deaths come the day after another British soldier was killed by an improvised explosive device in Helmand.

The ministry said their next of kin had been informed.

Britain has around 9,500 troops in Afghanistan, making it the second-largest contributor to the Nato-led International Security Assistance Force.

They are based in central Helmand, battling Taliban insurgents and training local security forces.