Three British soldiers were yesterday killed by a renegade Afghan soldier.
The three killed were Gurkhas - two British born officers and a Nepali Gurkha soldier.
The first victim was an officer who was killed in his bed as he slept at the patrol base.
The other officer and the soldier were then killed by being blasted by a rocket propelled grenade. Four other soldiers were injured.
British military chiefs fear the murderer may have been placed in the Afghan National Army - which is allied to the British - by Taliban insurgents.
One of the dead has been named as Lieutenant Neal Turkington from County Armagh.
It is the first time two officers have been killed in a single incident since the war in Afghanistan began in 2001.
The British Army is helping to train the Afghan Army to fight the Taliban so that the British can finally leave the country. But if the Afghan Army cannot be rid of these renegades then Britain's withdrawal from the country may be delayed.
However, Prime Minister David Cameron insisted he would not alter the strategy of UK forces working shoulder-to-shoulder with the Afghan Army.
Defence Secretary Liam Fox described the attacks as 'cowardly and despicable' and said: 'We have always recognised the risks that are inherent within partnering and we have worked very hard to reduce those to a minimum, but we can never guarantee against the actions of a rogue individual.'
This is not the first time that British troops have been killed by those they thought were friendly
In 2008 two British soldiers were shot in the leg by a rogue Afghan soldier. He was caught by the Taliban, who executed him as a traitor.
And in November last year five British servicemen were massacred at a secure checkpoint by an Afghan policeman high on heroin.
The number of British soldiers killed in Afghanistan since the operation began in 2001 now stands at 317.
'This aberration won't knock us off course': British commander vows murders by rogue Afghan soldier will not change mission
By Ian Drury
14th July 2010
Daily Mail
Brigadier Richard Felton described the killings by a renegade Afghan as an 'aberration' and vowed it would not 'knock us off course'.
A massive manhunt is still underway for the rogue soldier today, who executed a British commander in his bed on a patrol base as he slept.
The killer then slaughtered another two UK soldiers - including a second officer and a Gurkha - by blasting them with a rocket-propelled grenade.
Military chiefs fear the murderer may have been placed in the Afghan National Army by Taliban insurgents.
One of the dead has been named locally as Lieutenant Neal Turkington, from County Armagh. The Ministry of Defence are set to officially release the names later today.
Renegade: An Afghan soldier killed three British troops in Helmand Province today in an early morning attack at a joint patrol base (file picture)
Brig. Felton visited Patrol Base 3. where the killings happened, with his Afghan counterpart Colonel Sheren Shah yesterday.
The murders were a 'complete surprise' and had left the Afghan high command 'devastated', he said.
'I have absolute trust in my Afghan partners and they have absolute trust in me, and my commanding officers have the same,' he said.
'This is an aberration. The trust and the bonds that we have developed at all levels, from the junior private soldier through to the commanding officers and myself, with our Afghan partners are very strong.
'We will not let this aberration knock us off our course to rid this country of the insurgency, and we can only really do that through our Afghan partners.'
It is the first time two officers, a major and a lieutenant, have been killed in a single incident since the war in Afghanistan began in 2001.
Four servicemen were also wounded during the rampage inside the military compound in central Helmand.
Ministry of Defence officials said it was a 'suspected premeditated attack'.
The major was the most senior member of British forces to die in the country since Lieutenant Colonel Rupert Thorneloe was killed in an explosion last July.
Security: Afghan soldiers receiving weapons training at the Afghan National Army training camp on the outskirts of Kandahar yesterday
Tough: Afghan troops in combat training near Kandahar yesterday
The killings are a blow to the coalition plan to hand over gradual responsibility for national security to the Afghan army by 2015.
Afghans have already assumed the lead combat role in and around Kabul, and Nato commanders had hoped to give them primacy in most of the country by the end of next year.
But this incident shows there are at least some traitors in the ranks and is bound to be a setback.
If the Afghan army cannot be purged of these renegades, the timetable for British withdrawal could be seriously delayed.
However, David Cameron insisted he would not alter the strategy of UK forces working shoulder-to-shoulder with the Afghan Army.
The Taliban have claimed they are sheltering the killer, who managed to flee the carnage at joint Patrol Base 3, in Nahr-e Saraj district, at about 2.40am local time.
Taliban spokesman Qari Yousef Ahmadi described the soldier as 'heroic' in a message posted on the group's website.
He claimed he had fled to a known Taliban location where he was taken in by insurgents 'who appreciated his work and took him to a safe place'.
The soldier is reportedly a 23-year-old born in Ghazni Province, away from areas of Taliban influence, who had been in the ANA for just over a year.
He was said to be regarded by British troops as so reliable that he was often used as a go-between to settle disagreements between them and Afghan forces.
Defence Secretary Liam Fox, who described the attack as 'despicable and cowardly', said the Afghan soldier had been followed and will hopefully be captured.
'We have always recognised the risks that are inherent within partnering and we have worked very hard to reduce those to a minimum, but we can never guarantee against the actions of a rogue individual,' he said.
Defence Secretary Liam Fox has described the attacks on British soldiers as 'despicable and cowardly.'
He added that the British are 'not desperate to get out' but were 'very keen' to hand over control to the Afghans.
'We are not there as an army of occupation, we are there to ensure the Government of Afghan by people of Afghan for people of Afghan. We want to make that transition as quickly as we can,' the Scotsman said.
The attack is the second time members of the Afghan security forces have deliberately opened fire on British troops.
In 2008 two UK soldiers were shot in the leg by a rogue Afghan soldier. He was caught by the Taliban, who executed him as a traitor.
And in November last year five servicemen were massacred at a secure checkpoint by an Afghan policeman high on heroin.
The Prime Minister condemned the killings as 'appalling'. Afghan President Hamid Karzai also expressed 'shock and grief'.
A full investigation is being carried out by the Nato-led International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan and the Afghan Ministry of Defence.
The Afghan sergeant 'went rogue' at the compound where he and his comrades had lived for three months alongside the 1st Battalion The Royal Gurkha Rifles. He crept under cover of darkness into the base commander's tent before blasting him with a machinegun.
Amid the chaos, the killer moved across the compound - less than the size of a football pitch - pointed his shoulder-mounted rocket-propelled grenade launcher at the command post and fired a missile. It exploded in a ball of flame, killing a lieutenant and a Gurkha.
Mr Cameron, who spoke to Mr Karzai by telephone yesterday after the attack, said: 'It is absolutely essential that we don't let this terrible incident change our strategy.
'It is the right thing to do to build up the Afghan national army. The insurgents want us to change our approach and abandon our strategy, they want us to lose faith in the Afghan National Army. That would not be the right approach.
'We need to make sure we build up that army because that, in the end, is the way we are going to be able to bring our troops back home.'
General David Petraeus, the Nato commander in Afghanistan, said: 'This is a joint mission - Afghan and Alliance troopers fighting shoulder to shoulder against the Taliban and other extremists. We must ensure the trust between our forces remains solid in order to defeat our common enemies.'
Lieutenant General Nick Parker, the British second-in-command of ISAF Forces, said: 'It is a really serious breach of trust and a tragedy for the people involved.
But he insisted the Afghan army was 'extremely capable' and was ready to take the lead for security in Kabul and other provinces over the next 12 months.
Elsewhere, three American troops, one Afghan police officer and five civilians were killed in an attack on a police headquarters in the city of Kandahar in southern Afghanistan late last night.
dailymail.co.uk
The three killed were Gurkhas - two British born officers and a Nepali Gurkha soldier.
The first victim was an officer who was killed in his bed as he slept at the patrol base.
The other officer and the soldier were then killed by being blasted by a rocket propelled grenade. Four other soldiers were injured.
British military chiefs fear the murderer may have been placed in the Afghan National Army - which is allied to the British - by Taliban insurgents.
One of the dead has been named as Lieutenant Neal Turkington from County Armagh.
It is the first time two officers have been killed in a single incident since the war in Afghanistan began in 2001.
The British Army is helping to train the Afghan Army to fight the Taliban so that the British can finally leave the country. But if the Afghan Army cannot be rid of these renegades then Britain's withdrawal from the country may be delayed.
However, Prime Minister David Cameron insisted he would not alter the strategy of UK forces working shoulder-to-shoulder with the Afghan Army.
Defence Secretary Liam Fox described the attacks as 'cowardly and despicable' and said: 'We have always recognised the risks that are inherent within partnering and we have worked very hard to reduce those to a minimum, but we can never guarantee against the actions of a rogue individual.'
This is not the first time that British troops have been killed by those they thought were friendly
In 2008 two British soldiers were shot in the leg by a rogue Afghan soldier. He was caught by the Taliban, who executed him as a traitor.
And in November last year five British servicemen were massacred at a secure checkpoint by an Afghan policeman high on heroin.
The number of British soldiers killed in Afghanistan since the operation began in 2001 now stands at 317.
'This aberration won't knock us off course': British commander vows murders by rogue Afghan soldier will not change mission
By Ian Drury
14th July 2010
Daily Mail
- Brigadier insists strategy should not change
- Liam Fox denies Britain is 'desperate to leave'
- Taliban believed to be sheltering attacker
- Victims' names to be released by MoD later
Brigadier Richard Felton described the killings by a renegade Afghan as an 'aberration' and vowed it would not 'knock us off course'.
A massive manhunt is still underway for the rogue soldier today, who executed a British commander in his bed on a patrol base as he slept.
The killer then slaughtered another two UK soldiers - including a second officer and a Gurkha - by blasting them with a rocket-propelled grenade.
Military chiefs fear the murderer may have been placed in the Afghan National Army by Taliban insurgents.
One of the dead has been named locally as Lieutenant Neal Turkington, from County Armagh. The Ministry of Defence are set to officially release the names later today.
Renegade: An Afghan soldier killed three British troops in Helmand Province today in an early morning attack at a joint patrol base (file picture)
Brig. Felton visited Patrol Base 3. where the killings happened, with his Afghan counterpart Colonel Sheren Shah yesterday.
The murders were a 'complete surprise' and had left the Afghan high command 'devastated', he said.
'I have absolute trust in my Afghan partners and they have absolute trust in me, and my commanding officers have the same,' he said.
'This is an aberration. The trust and the bonds that we have developed at all levels, from the junior private soldier through to the commanding officers and myself, with our Afghan partners are very strong.
'We will not let this aberration knock us off our course to rid this country of the insurgency, and we can only really do that through our Afghan partners.'
It is the first time two officers, a major and a lieutenant, have been killed in a single incident since the war in Afghanistan began in 2001.
Four servicemen were also wounded during the rampage inside the military compound in central Helmand.
Ministry of Defence officials said it was a 'suspected premeditated attack'.
The major was the most senior member of British forces to die in the country since Lieutenant Colonel Rupert Thorneloe was killed in an explosion last July.
Security: Afghan soldiers receiving weapons training at the Afghan National Army training camp on the outskirts of Kandahar yesterday
Tough: Afghan troops in combat training near Kandahar yesterday
The killings are a blow to the coalition plan to hand over gradual responsibility for national security to the Afghan army by 2015.
Afghans have already assumed the lead combat role in and around Kabul, and Nato commanders had hoped to give them primacy in most of the country by the end of next year.
But this incident shows there are at least some traitors in the ranks and is bound to be a setback.
If the Afghan army cannot be purged of these renegades, the timetable for British withdrawal could be seriously delayed.
However, David Cameron insisted he would not alter the strategy of UK forces working shoulder-to-shoulder with the Afghan Army.
The Taliban have claimed they are sheltering the killer, who managed to flee the carnage at joint Patrol Base 3, in Nahr-e Saraj district, at about 2.40am local time.
Taliban spokesman Qari Yousef Ahmadi described the soldier as 'heroic' in a message posted on the group's website.
He claimed he had fled to a known Taliban location where he was taken in by insurgents 'who appreciated his work and took him to a safe place'.
The soldier is reportedly a 23-year-old born in Ghazni Province, away from areas of Taliban influence, who had been in the ANA for just over a year.
He was said to be regarded by British troops as so reliable that he was often used as a go-between to settle disagreements between them and Afghan forces.
Defence Secretary Liam Fox, who described the attack as 'despicable and cowardly', said the Afghan soldier had been followed and will hopefully be captured.
'We have always recognised the risks that are inherent within partnering and we have worked very hard to reduce those to a minimum, but we can never guarantee against the actions of a rogue individual,' he said.
Defence Secretary Liam Fox has described the attacks on British soldiers as 'despicable and cowardly.'
He added that the British are 'not desperate to get out' but were 'very keen' to hand over control to the Afghans.
'We are not there as an army of occupation, we are there to ensure the Government of Afghan by people of Afghan for people of Afghan. We want to make that transition as quickly as we can,' the Scotsman said.
The attack is the second time members of the Afghan security forces have deliberately opened fire on British troops.
In 2008 two UK soldiers were shot in the leg by a rogue Afghan soldier. He was caught by the Taliban, who executed him as a traitor.
And in November last year five servicemen were massacred at a secure checkpoint by an Afghan policeman high on heroin.
The Prime Minister condemned the killings as 'appalling'. Afghan President Hamid Karzai also expressed 'shock and grief'.
A full investigation is being carried out by the Nato-led International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan and the Afghan Ministry of Defence.
The Afghan sergeant 'went rogue' at the compound where he and his comrades had lived for three months alongside the 1st Battalion The Royal Gurkha Rifles. He crept under cover of darkness into the base commander's tent before blasting him with a machinegun.
Amid the chaos, the killer moved across the compound - less than the size of a football pitch - pointed his shoulder-mounted rocket-propelled grenade launcher at the command post and fired a missile. It exploded in a ball of flame, killing a lieutenant and a Gurkha.
Mr Cameron, who spoke to Mr Karzai by telephone yesterday after the attack, said: 'It is absolutely essential that we don't let this terrible incident change our strategy.
'It is the right thing to do to build up the Afghan national army. The insurgents want us to change our approach and abandon our strategy, they want us to lose faith in the Afghan National Army. That would not be the right approach.
'We need to make sure we build up that army because that, in the end, is the way we are going to be able to bring our troops back home.'
General David Petraeus, the Nato commander in Afghanistan, said: 'This is a joint mission - Afghan and Alliance troopers fighting shoulder to shoulder against the Taliban and other extremists. We must ensure the trust between our forces remains solid in order to defeat our common enemies.'
Lieutenant General Nick Parker, the British second-in-command of ISAF Forces, said: 'It is a really serious breach of trust and a tragedy for the people involved.
But he insisted the Afghan army was 'extremely capable' and was ready to take the lead for security in Kabul and other provinces over the next 12 months.
Elsewhere, three American troops, one Afghan police officer and five civilians were killed in an attack on a police headquarters in the city of Kandahar in southern Afghanistan late last night.
- A Royal Marine from 40 Commando has been shot dead while on foot patrol in Helmand. Next of kin have been informed. The number of British military personnel killed on operations during the nine-year war has now reached 318.
dailymail.co.uk
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