LONDON - Two members of Britain`s armed forces have been killed in separate explosions in Afghanistan, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) in London said Saturday.

In the first, a marine from 40 Commando Royal Marines died in an explosion while he was out on foot patrol in the Sangin district of Helmand Province, southern Afghanistan, on Friday.

The second saw a soldier from The Royal Dragoon Guards die in a blast in the Nahr-e Saraj district of Helmand on Saturday.

He was part of a patrol providing security to allow the construction of new roads and security bases, the MoD said. The families of the two men have been informed.

Earlier this week, a renegade Afghan soldier killed three British troops on an army base in Helmand.

British Prime Minister David Cameron said last month he wants the country`s combat troops to withdraw from Afghanistan within five years, without fixing a precise timetable.

A total of 373 foreign soldiers have lost their lives in conflict in Afghanistan since the start of this year, according to a tally by independent website www.icasualties.org.

Some 320 British forces personnel or civilians working for the MoD have now died in Afghanistan since 2001. Britain has around 10,000 troops there as part of an international force fighting the Taliban.

BDST: 1659 HRS, 17 July 2010