TWO commandos from Poole went into action together and together they died - just a few weeks before they were due to come home.

Friends Lance Bombardiers Ross Clark, 25, and Liam McLaughlin, 21, were killed in Afghanistan when a Taliban rocket hit their position during a pitched battle near Sangin.

The pair, who were members of the Royal Artillery's elite 148 Commando Forward Observation Battery, based in Hamworthy, became the 49th and 50th British soldiers to be killed in Afghanistan.

Pay your tribute to the soldiers below.

Zimbabwe-born Clark and "Paddy" McLaughlin, from Lancashire, has been serving with the unit, which works closely with the SAS and SBS, in Helmand since September.

Colleagues and senior officers paid warm tribute to the two soldiers, who had both earned the coveted green beret.

The pair were killed just days after defence secretary Des Brown announced large scale UK reinforcements, which will swell the British presence in Afghanistan to 7,700 personnel by the summer, larger than the force currently in Iraq.

Lance Bombardier Clark, who was an accomplished triathlete, joined the British Army five years ago. He passed the demanding commando course in March 2003 and within days found himself in combat in southern Iraq during the British landings on the Al Faw Peninsula.

Friends recall how he once plummeted to earth during parachute training after becoming entangled with another jumper, but survived a heavy landing unscathed, dusted himself off and continued with his training.

Paddy McLaughlin had "only one setting and that was throttle fully on", the MOD said. His commanding officer Lieutenant Colonel Neil Wilson, Royal Artillery, said: "Paddy was a real character, that rare combination of natural verve and determined professionalism that is an absolute pleasure to be around."

  • The Ministry of Defence confirmed that a Royal Marine from 42 Commando was killed on Tuesday in Helmand province. The soldier was involved in massive NATO-led offensive to drive out Taliban forces in the south.