A Royal Marine and a soldier have been shot dead by a rogue Afghan National Army gunman.
Afghan military leaders said it was unclear whether the gunman was acting alone or had been "influenced by the enemy".
In a similar incident a third serviceman - not British - was shot dead by Afghan security forces.
Yesterday's three deaths appear to be the latest in a string of "green on blue" attacks in which members of the Afghan security forces have opened fire on international allies.
The Marine and the Adjutant General's Corps soldier were serving as part of Task Force Helmand when the ANA soldier opened fire at the gate of the British headquarters in Lashkar Gar city, southern Afghanistan.
The families of the servicemen - who are expected to be named today - have been told.
ANA Brigadier General Sherin Shah said the "incident which involved armed conflict by one of the ANA members of the Fourth Kandak of 3-215 Brigade was a tragic event".
He added: "The incident is still under investigation and it is unclear if the action was planned or influenced by the enemy or if he acted alone.
"Either way it is with the deepest regret that two Isaf (International Security Assistance Force) soldiers who came to our country to provide security are now dead."
According to the Associated Press the attacker had been in close contact with insurgents and had informed the Taliban of his plan.
Ghulam Farooq Parwani, deputy commander of the Afghan National Army in Helmand, said the gunman was from the eastern Nangarhar province and had been in the army for four years.
The soldier, who arrived at the gate of the base in an army vehicle, approached the British troops claiming that he had been assigned to provide security for a delegation of government officials from Kabul who were visiting the base.
Mr Parwani added: "He got close to the foreign troops - three or four metres - and he opened fire. Then the foreign troops killed him."
Major Ian Lawrence, spokesman for Task Force Helmand, said: "Sadly, I must report that a Royal Marine and a soldier from the Adjutant General's Corps were shot and killed by an Afghan National Army soldier at the main entrance to Lashkar Gah main operating base."
The third serviceman to be killed was shot by Afghan police in eastern Afghanistan.
An Isaf spokesman said: "According to operational reports, the Isaf service member was shot by an alleged member of the Afghan Local Police as the security force approached an ALP checkpoint.
"The circumstances behind the incident are currently under investigation by Afghan and coalition forces."
Fifteen Nato service members have been killed by Afghan security officials or militants disguised in their uniforms so far this year.
Five British soldiers were killed by a rogue Afghan policeman in November 2009. The gunman opened fire on the men in a military compound in Nad e-Ali before fleeing. The Taliban later claimed responsibility.
Such attacks have become increasingly common, particularly since the burning of copies of the Koran at a US base in February.
Shadow defence secretary Jim Murphy questioned the procedures for vetting recruits to the Afghan security forces.
He said: "Since 2007, Afghan forces have attacked Nato forces, resulting in 75 fatalities. Most of these attacks have taken place over the past two years.
"In light of previous incidents, what new procedures have been implemented to vet Afghan recruits?"
Armed Forces Minister Nick Harvey said "force protection" was kept under review and added: "We have changed our procedures in the light of events, both recently and over a longer period of time."
Mr Harvey said the decision to partner UK troops with Afghan forces involved "a considerable degree of risk" but "this is a risk that the last government was right to compute that it is worth taking and it's the only way, frankly, we are going to ingrain the necessary skills and culture into the Afghan forces and complete our mentoring task".
The deaths of the two servicemen has taken the British Armed Forces' total number of deaths since operations began in Afghanistan to 407. Of these, 367 died as a result of hostile action, the MoD says.
BY: LONDEN EVENING STANDARD
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