Two UK Soldiers Shot Dead By Afghan Police

9:06am UK, Sunday May 13, 2012

Two British servicemen have been shot dead by members of the Afghan Police Force, the Ministry of Defence has said.

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.

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.

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."

The attack on Saturday is the 16th incident this year in which Afghan soldiers or insurgents disguised in military uniforms have turned their weapons on foreign troops, according to Nato.

On Friday, a man wearing an Afghan army uniform shot dead a US soldier in eastern Afghanistan.

ISAF has taken several security measures in response to the shootings, including assigning "guardian angels" - soldiers who watch over their comrades as they sleep.

Around 130,000 coalition troops are fighting alongside some 350,000 Afghan security personnel against the Taliban-led insurgency but they are due to pull out of the country in 2014.

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