Two British servicemen
have been shot dead by gunmen purporting to be members of the Afghan police.
Force (ISAF) spokesman said the attack was conducted by two people wearing Afghan Police uniforms.
Photo: AFP/GETTY IMAGES
A Royal Air Force airman and a soldier
from 1st Battalion Welsh Guards were killed yesterday in the Lashkar Gah district of Helmand province.
They were providing security for a meeting with local officials at a patrol base, the MoD said. Next of
kin have been informed. The incident take the number of deaths of British servicemen and women in
Afghanistan since 2001 to 414. An International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) spokesman said the
attack was conducted by two people wearing Afghan Police uniforms. One is on the run and the other was
killed when forces returned fire, the spokesman said.
Fareed Ahmad, a spokesman for the Helmand
provincial police, said the policemen opened fire at 3pm at a joint Afghan-coalition compound, killing
two coalition troops. He said a third Afghan policemen fired at the attackers, killing one and wounding
the other, who escaped.
According to Mr Ahmad, the gunmen had been members of the Afghan
National Police for a year and were from Nangarhar province in eastern Afghanistan. However, Nato said
its investigation indicated that the assailants were insurgents dressed in police uniforms, not
official members of the police force.
Major Ian Lawrence, spokesman for Task Force Helmand,
said: “Sadly, it is my duty to confirm that a soldier serving with 1st Battalion Welsh Guards and an
airman from The Royal Air Force have been shot and killed in the Lashkar Gah district of Helmand
province.
“The thoughts and condolences of everyone serving in the Task Force are with their
families and friends.”
Eighteen Nato service personnel have ben killed in Afghanistan this
month.
The incident is the latest in a string of “green on blue”
attacks in which members of the Afghan security forces have appeared to have opened fire on
international allies.
In March, Sergeant Luke Taylor, of the
Royal Marines, and Lance Corporal Michael Foley, of the Adjutant General’s Corps (Staff and Personnel
Support) were shot dead by an Afghan soldier at the entrance to the UK headquarters in Helmand
province. 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.
The victims were Warrant Officer Class 1 Darren
Chant, 40, from Walthamstow, London, Sergeant Matthew Telford, 37, from Grimsby, and Guardsman Jimmy
Major, 18, also from Grimsby, all members of 1st Battalion The Grenadier Guards. Royal Military
Policemen Corporal Steven Boote, 22, from Birkenhead, and Corporal Nicholas Webster-Smith, 24, from
Brackley, Northamptonshire, were also killed.
