"... but the toll could have been far higher had it not been for the body armour the troops wore. Several soldiers are understood to have escaped harm despite being shot in the chest."...
Man, I betcha the Talibunnies' eye got as big as silver dollars after shooting a Brit at point blank range in the chest, watch him go down and get right back up. Hope the SAS was screaming "Allah Akbar" as he resumed his attack.
If that don't make you rethink who side G-d might be on, nothing will.
The state of the art in body armor are plates which are slid into pockets on the front of soft armored vests. These plates are about 12" high by 10" wide, weigh @ 4lbs, are made of exotic composites, and will stop at least six 7.62NATO rounds point blank, (not fired at the same spot).