Eight more British soldiers were killed in Afghanistan, taking the total number of U.K. troops to have died in the country since 2001 above that for Iraq.

The latest deaths occurred in a 24-hour period in Helmand province, with five troops killed during one patrol yesterday, the Ministry of Defence said in an e-mailed statement. Next of kin have been informed. It brings the total number of British casualties in Afghanistan to 184. In Iraq, where British operations have finished, 179 were killed. In all, 15 soldiers have died in 10 days in southern Afghanistan.

“The last 10 days have been extraordinarily difficult,” Prime Minister Gordon Brown wrote today in a letter to Alan Williams, chairman of Parliament’s Liaison Committee. Troops “will continue to face a tough and dangerous battle.”

The deaths have renewed debate over whether Britain’s 9,000-strong force has the right equipment and resources to beat the Taliban. Brown yesterday brushed aside questions about whether enough helicopters had been sent to the country.

“Later this year Merlin helicopters will be deployed,” Brown told reporters in Italy, where he was attending the Group of Eight summit. “We’ve responded to the requirements of the military.”

In today’s letter, which was e-mailed to Bloomberg News, Brown said it is “vital” the international community continue to help both Afghanistan and Pakistan fight the twin threats of the Taliban and al-Qaeda.

Clearing Terrorists

“This is a fight to clear terrorist networks from Afghanistan and Pakistan, to support the elected governments in both countries against the Taliban, to tackle the heroin trade which funds terrorism and the insurgency, and to build longer term stability,” Brown wrote. “To succeed in one of the two countries would mean that al-Qaeda could still attack us from the other.”

Brown said the U.K. will provide 665 million pounds ($1.1 billion) in development assistance to Pakistan over the next four years, the U.K.-s second-biggest overseas aid program. Over 3 billion pounds of funding will go towards operations in Afghanistan this year, he said.

Of the latest casualties, the MoD said five were from the 2nd Battalion The Rifles who were killed in two separate blasts while on foot patrol yesterday.

“While there are no words to ease their loss, our heartfelt sympathies go to their families, friends and fellow soldiers at this very difficult time: their deaths were not in vain,” said army spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Nick Richardson in a statement.

‘Very Difficult Mission’

Foreign Secretary David Miliband said today that it had been a “grievous few days” for British military personnel and their families.

“We know that they are engaged in a very, very difficult mission and we have a responsibility to engage the country in understanding that mission and supporting it,” Miliband told the British Broadcasting Corp.’s Radio 4 Today program. “This is about the future of Britain because we know that the badlands of Afghanistan and Pakistan have been used to launch terrible attacks, not just on the United States, but on Britain as well.”

Among the British soldiers who have died since July 2 is Lieutenant-Colonel Rupert Thorneloe, the most senior army officer killed in action since the 1982 Falklands War.

British troop numbers have risen from their usual level of around 8,300 for Operation Panther’s Claw, a major offensive near Gereshk in southern Helmand aimed at increasing security in the country before the presidential election next month. They have been joined by about 4,000 U.S. and 650 Afghan troops.

“There’s some really hard fighting taking place,” Defence Secretary Bob Ainsworth told Sky News ahead of the announcement. “We’re taking the Taliban on in a real heartland area. They’re standing and fighting.”

A.nemdil and Agencies