A 25-year-old British soldier from Co Down, who was killed in Afghanistan, has been named.
Channing Day, from 3 Medical Regiment, died alongside a Royal Marine while they were on patrol in the Nahr-e Saraj district of Helmand province.
The British Ministry of Defence said the family of Ms Day, who was from Comber, had been informed.
The two soldiers are thought to have been killed by insurgents, however details of the incident remain unclear.
A source said the people who knew what happened were not currently in a "state" to write down witness statements or explain what they saw.
They said the two appeared to have been killed by gunshot wounds, but the details had not yet been confirmed.
However the BBC has quoted an Afghan source who claimed the deaths were from a "green on blue" attack - where coalition troops are killed by their Afghan allies.
It is understood the Taliban have also issued a statement suggesting this.
Major Laurence Roche, spokesman for Task Force Helmand, said: "I am extremely sorry to announce the deaths of a Royal Marine from 40 Commando and a soldier from 3 Medical Regiment serving with Task Force Helmand.
"This is dreadful news for all of us serving in Afghanistan. Our sincere condolences go to their families, friends and colleagues at this time of grief."
Their deaths take the total number of British service members to have died since operations in Afghanistan began in October 2001 to 435.
