Renegade Afghan kills three British soldiers
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Pastor Dale Morgan
Jul 14, 2010, 5:25:04 AM7/14/10
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Perilous Times
Renegade Afghan kills three British soldiers
Murder of troops, including one senior officer, inside Helmand patrol base deals severe blow to government's exit strategy
* Matthew Taylor and Richard Norton-Taylor
* The Guardian, Wednesday 14 July 2010
Gurkhas in Nahr-e-Saraj Soldiers of 1st Battalion Royal Gurkha Rifles (A Company) take cover during contact with insurgents at a village in Nahr-e-Saraj. Photograph: Bay Ismoyo/AFP
The government's Afghanistan exit strategy suffered a severe setback yesterday after three British troops, including a senior army officer, were murdered by an Afghan colleague inside a patrol base in Helmand province.
The soldiers, from the Gurkha Rifles, were killed by a rogue member of the Afghan national army in a "suspected premeditated attack", the Ministry of Defence said. One was a company commander in charge of a British base in Helmand, another was a British-born junior officer and the third a Nepalese Gurkha. The Afghan, who fled the scene, is understood to have shot one man in his bed and killed the other two by firing a rocket-propelled grenade into a control room.
The killings are the latest blow to British efforts to train the Afghan security forces, which is key to government plans to withdraw UK troops by 2015 and raises questions about the extent of Taliban infiltration of the Afghan army.
Last night the Taliban claimed the Afghan soldier had joined its insurgency. On its website, Afghan Taliban spokesman Qari Yousef Ahmadi said that after opening fire on the servicemen the rogue soldier fled to a Taliban-protected safe place.
David Cameron called the attack "appalling" but said the government would not be diverted from the "absolutely essential" task of training an effective Afghan army. "We must not let this change our strategy of building up the army, building up the government of Afghanistan."
Liam Fox, the defence secretary, said the attack would not affect the government's "resolve to see our mission through and train Afghan security forces so they can look after their own security and our forces one day can come home".
He added in a speech to the Chatham House thinktank: "We all know there is no such thing as a risk-free war, a casualty-free war or a fatality-free war."
Map - Nahr-e-Saraj Map showing Nahr-e-Saraj in central Helmand where the attack took place.
Five thousand British troops are currently partnering members of the Afghan army. They are engaged in an ambitious project, now under renewed scrutiny, to help train Afghan army recruits whose numbers are due to be increased from about 100,000 to 134,000 by the start of next year. They are also engaged in helping train the Afghan police force, described recently by one senior British defence official as a "disaster". The soldiers, from 1st Battalion The Royal Gurkha Rifles, died after being targeted at a joint patrol base in Nahr-e-Saraj, north of Lashkar Gah, Helmand's provincial capital. Four other troops were injured in the attack.
The attack took place around 2.45am yesterday. The soldier fled the base, sparking a major manhunt by UK and Afghan troops.
It is the third time a Afghan security forces member has opened fire on British troops. In 2008 two British soldiers were shot in the leg and last November five British soldiers were shot dead by an Afghan policeman who was never caught.
The government has made it clear that training the Afghan army is central to British plans in Afghanistan. Earlier this year a British infantry commander, Lt Col Nick Ilic, explained: "It is absolutely fundamental we get this right. This is our exit strategy … for us to train the Afghan national army to the right standard and quality so they can take on the fight when they're ready."
Hamid Karzai, the Afghan president, apologised to the UK after yesterday's killings. US and Nato commander General David Petraeus said: "I echo the condolences and sentiments offered by President Karzai.
"This is a combined, joint mission – Afghan and alliance troopers fighting shoulder-to-shoulder against the Taliban and other extremists."1st Battalion, Royal Gurkha Rifles were posted to the Nahr-e Saraj district of Helmand province in April and had begun pushing out into what had been Taliban-controlled territory on joint patrols with the Afghan national army.
The Gurkha unit's home is Shorncliffe barracks in Folkestone, Kent, although most of the men are recruited in Nepal. Their officers are both British and Gurkha.
Following past incidents, it has become standard practice in joint ANA/Nato compounds for British soldiers to carry sidearms and ensure that one of their patrol members remains on guard with his rifle. The latest killings will reinforce the distrust felt by some British troops of their Afghan counterparts.
In a separate incident a Royal Marine was shot dead in Afghanistan yesterday, the MoD said last night. The Marine, from 40 Commando Royal Marines serving as part of Combined Force Sangin, died while on foot patrol in the Sangin district of Helmand. Next of kin have been informed.
Renegade Afghan kills three British soldiers
Murder of troops, including one senior officer, inside Helmand patrol base deals severe blow to government's exit strategy
* Matthew Taylor and Richard Norton-Taylor
* The Guardian, Wednesday 14 July 2010
Gurkhas in Nahr-e-Saraj Soldiers of 1st Battalion Royal Gurkha Rifles (A Company) take cover during contact with insurgents at a village in Nahr-e-Saraj. Photograph: Bay Ismoyo/AFP
The government's Afghanistan exit strategy suffered a severe setback yesterday after three British troops, including a senior army officer, were murdered by an Afghan colleague inside a patrol base in Helmand province.
The soldiers, from the Gurkha Rifles, were killed by a rogue member of the Afghan national army in a "suspected premeditated attack", the Ministry of Defence said. One was a company commander in charge of a British base in Helmand, another was a British-born junior officer and the third a Nepalese Gurkha. The Afghan, who fled the scene, is understood to have shot one man in his bed and killed the other two by firing a rocket-propelled grenade into a control room.
The killings are the latest blow to British efforts to train the Afghan security forces, which is key to government plans to withdraw UK troops by 2015 and raises questions about the extent of Taliban infiltration of the Afghan army.
Last night the Taliban claimed the Afghan soldier had joined its insurgency. On its website, Afghan Taliban spokesman Qari Yousef Ahmadi said that after opening fire on the servicemen the rogue soldier fled to a Taliban-protected safe place.
David Cameron called the attack "appalling" but said the government would not be diverted from the "absolutely essential" task of training an effective Afghan army. "We must not let this change our strategy of building up the army, building up the government of Afghanistan."
Liam Fox, the defence secretary, said the attack would not affect the government's "resolve to see our mission through and train Afghan security forces so they can look after their own security and our forces one day can come home".
He added in a speech to the Chatham House thinktank: "We all know there is no such thing as a risk-free war, a casualty-free war or a fatality-free war."
Map - Nahr-e-Saraj Map showing Nahr-e-Saraj in central Helmand where the attack took place.
Five thousand British troops are currently partnering members of the Afghan army. They are engaged in an ambitious project, now under renewed scrutiny, to help train Afghan army recruits whose numbers are due to be increased from about 100,000 to 134,000 by the start of next year. They are also engaged in helping train the Afghan police force, described recently by one senior British defence official as a "disaster". The soldiers, from 1st Battalion The Royal Gurkha Rifles, died after being targeted at a joint patrol base in Nahr-e-Saraj, north of Lashkar Gah, Helmand's provincial capital. Four other troops were injured in the attack.
The attack took place around 2.45am yesterday. The soldier fled the base, sparking a major manhunt by UK and Afghan troops.
It is the third time a Afghan security forces member has opened fire on British troops. In 2008 two British soldiers were shot in the leg and last November five British soldiers were shot dead by an Afghan policeman who was never caught.
The government has made it clear that training the Afghan army is central to British plans in Afghanistan. Earlier this year a British infantry commander, Lt Col Nick Ilic, explained: "It is absolutely fundamental we get this right. This is our exit strategy … for us to train the Afghan national army to the right standard and quality so they can take on the fight when they're ready."
Hamid Karzai, the Afghan president, apologised to the UK after yesterday's killings. US and Nato commander General David Petraeus said: "I echo the condolences and sentiments offered by President Karzai.
"This is a combined, joint mission – Afghan and alliance troopers fighting shoulder-to-shoulder against the Taliban and other extremists."1st Battalion, Royal Gurkha Rifles were posted to the Nahr-e Saraj district of Helmand province in April and had begun pushing out into what had been Taliban-controlled territory on joint patrols with the Afghan national army.
The Gurkha unit's home is Shorncliffe barracks in Folkestone, Kent, although most of the men are recruited in Nepal. Their officers are both British and Gurkha.
Following past incidents, it has become standard practice in joint ANA/Nato compounds for British soldiers to carry sidearms and ensure that one of their patrol members remains on guard with his rifle. The latest killings will reinforce the distrust felt by some British troops of their Afghan counterparts.
In a separate incident a Royal Marine was shot dead in Afghanistan yesterday, the MoD said last night. The Marine, from 40 Commando Royal Marines serving as part of Combined Force Sangin, died while on foot patrol in the Sangin district of Helmand. Next of kin have been informed.
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