LONDON, Jan. 17 (UPI) -- The mortar rounds that killed two British soldiers in Afghanistan this week may have been fired by other British troops, defense officials said Friday.
The Ministry of Defense acknowledged an investigation was under way, The Guardian reported.
Capt. Tom Sawyer, 26, of the Royal Artillery and Corporal Danny Winter, 28, of the Royal Marines died Wednesday in central Helmand province during an operation against a Taliban base. Two other soldiers were injured.
Four British soldiers are known to have been killed by friendly fire in Afghanistan, all by U.S. airstrikes. In 2007, British forces fired Javelin heat-seeking missiles that killed two Danish soldiers. In all, 141 British soldiers have died in combat in the country.
The ministry said "appalling" weather in the area has slowed the investigation into the deaths this week.
Sawyer was on his second tour in Afghanistan. A commander called him an officer who was "loyal, loud and loving."
Winter, a specialist in heavy weapons, had served in the Marines for more than a decade, including deployment in Northern Ireland, Iraq and Afghanistan.
