LONDON - Two British soldiers were shot and killed by a man wearing the uniform of the Afghan Local Police at a Checkpoint in Helmand Province, Southern Afghanistan on Saturday, the British Ministry of Defense (MOD) said.

"It is with deep sadness that I must report the death of two soldiers from 3rd Battalion The Yorkshire Regiment who were shot and killed by a man wearing the uniform of the Afghan Local Police at a checkpoint in the south of Nahr-e Saraj," Spokesman for Task Force Helmand, Major Laurence Roche said.

Similar attacks have been carried out in recent months. Three British soldiers have died at a check point after being shot by a man wearing an Afghan Police uniform in July. Two British soldiers were shot dead at a patrol base in Helmand province by members of the Afghan police force in May. Another two were shot dead by a rogue Afghan soldier at the entrance to the British headquarters in Lashkar Gar in Helmand Province in March.

The number of British military deaths now stands at 430 since the country began its operation in Afghanistan in 2001.

Britain has planned to withdraw most of its forces by the end of 2014. Recent comments made by its Defense Secretary Philip Hammond suggested the country is considering an early withdrawal.

"We genuinely haven't made a decision yet and I think it's probably true to say that the military view on this is changing a little a bit," Hammond said on Friday, adding that Britain will "wait until ISAF, but more particularly the Americans have reached a decision about their drawdown pattern just because they constitute the overwhelming bulk of the force."

Britain's Prince Harry gestures after passing the Apache helicopter flight line at Camp Bastion, Afghanistan, in this file picture taken Sept 7, 2012. Afghanistan's Taliban claimed responsibility, on Sept 15, 2012, for an attack on Camp Bastion, which US officials said killed two American Marines, saying it was in response to a film that insults the Prophet Mohammad. Britain's Prince Harry was at Camp Bastion at the time of the attack, but was unharmed. [Photo/Agencies]