Prince William upset by death of soldiers

Britain's Prince William has been left saddened by the death of two soldiers in his regiment.

The second in line to the throne, who became Colonel of the Irish Guards last month, received the upsetting news last night (24.03.11) that two of his men were killed on the frontline in Afghanistan, six days before they were due home.

A royal source told the Daily Mirror: "The Royal Family are always terribly sad when any member of the armed forces is killed. William has a particular fondness for the Irish Guards, so the news is especially sad for him."

Due to be named later today (25.03.11) the soldiers died as they returned from a joint operation with the Afghan National Army in Nahr-e Saraj, when a Taliban Improvised Explosive Device (IED) detonated during a mission.

Task Force Helmand spokesman, Lieutenant Colonel Tim Purbrick, said: "The soldiers had successfully disrupted insurgent activity.

"Their patrol was returning to their own camp - to commence the handover before they were due to return home - when the vehicle was struck by an IED."

Last month William - whose brother Prince Harry secretly served in Afghanistan in 2008 working as a forward air controller until details of his deployment were revealed in the media and he had to be withdrawn - was handed his first major British Army role when he was made Colonel.