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Eight British soldiers killed in Afghanistan within 24 hours

11 July 2009 09:02 (UTC +04:00)

Baku â€“APA. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown warned Friday of a "very hard summer" in Afghanistan after eight British soldiers were killed, taking their military death toll higher than in Iraq, APA reports quoting AFP. Speaking at the Group of Eight summit in L’Aquila, central Italy as the death toll reached 15 within 10 days, Brown said it was vital the international community maintained its commitment to bring stability to Afghanistan.
The spike in fatalities mean Britain has now lost 184 troops in Afghanistan since operations began in 2001 -- surpassing the 179 killed in Iraq since the US-led invasion in 2003.
Britain joined the international operations in Afghanistan in 2001. There are 8300 British troops in Afghanistan, according to reports to July, 2009.