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History > 2012 > UK > War > Afghanistan (I)
Taliban infiltration fears grow
as 'rogue' Afghan police
gun down British soldiers
Two servicemen killed
while protecting meeting with Afghan officials
at patrol base in Helmand province
Sunday 13 May 2012
19.07 BST
Guardian.co.uk
Emma Graham-Harrison in Kabul and Rajeev Syal
This article was published on guardian.co.uk at 19.07 BST on Sunday 13 May 2012.
A version appeared on p3 of the Main section section of the Guardian on Monday
14 May 2012. It was last modified at 00.06 BST on Monday 14 May 2012.
Two British servicemen have been shot dead by two Afghan
policemen, the latest in a string of "rogue attacks" on foreign forces by the
men who are supposed to be their allies in the fight against the Taliban.
The Ministry of Defence said that a Royal Air Force airman and a soldier from
1st Battalion Welsh Guards were killed on Saturday in southern Helmand province,
when they were protecting a meeting with Afghan officials at a patrol base. The
next of kin have been informed.
"What appears to have happened is that an Afghan police officer opened fire on a
mentoring team working with the Afghan police," Philip Hammond, the defence
secretary, told BBC's Andrew Marr Show.
"We don't yet know what the motive was; we don't yet know whether this was an
insurgent who'd infiltrated the police or whether it was a policeman who simply
had a grievance of some kind," he said.
About one in every seven of the Nato soldiers who have died in Afghanistan this
year were killed by Afghan forces.
The attackers ranged from an elite commando who turned his gun on a special
forces mentor in a remote base, to a sergeant who shot dead two senior officers
inside the interior ministry in Kabul.
The rate of these attacks, known to the military as "green-on-blue" incidents
because of the colours that represent the Afghan forces and Nato-led coalition,
has been rising even as foreign forces reduce their presence in Afghanistan.
In 2011 there were 35 soldiers killed in 21 attacks by Afghan forces. This year
22 soldiers have been killed in 16 separate attacks by Afghan forces, a
spokesman for the International Security Assistance Force said. There have been
several other attacks that did not lead to any foreign soldiers' deaths. A total
of 414 members of UK forces have died since operations in Afghanistan began in
October 2001. A Ministry of Defence spokesman said about a dozen of them had
been killed by friendly Afghan forces in "green-on-blue" attacks.
At least four British soldiers are among this year's dead. In March, Sergeant
Luke Taylor, of the Royal Marines, and Lance Corporal Michael Foley, of the
Adjutant General's Corps, were shot dead by an Afghan soldier at the entrance to
the UK headquarters in Helmand province.
The shootings are posing an increasing problem for both the Afghan government
and its western supporters. The military strategy in Afghanistan is now focused
on training the national army and police to fight the Taliban more effectively
so foreign combat troops can leave by a 2014 deadline. But the trust essential
to the mentoring missions is being steadily eroded by the attacks.
Jim Murphy, the shadow defence secretary, said the recruitment process of Afghan
recruits needs to be re-examined as Britain moves towards the withdrawal of
nearly all forces in 2015.
"There has been a real emergence of these horrific attacks by people dressed in
friendly uniform. This tells us that we should look at the recruitment processes
again," he told Sky's Dermot Murnaghan.
"My concern is that in 2015, when Britain is going to be running training
regimes in Afghanistan, who is going to be ensuring the security of British
personnel then?" he said.
The Afghan government has set up counter-infiltration units to root out possible
Taliban agents or sympathisers. The Nato-led coalition has also assigned some
soldiers as "guardian angels" to watch over other troops as they go about their
day on joint bases or sleep at night.
But senior officers also argue not all killings are the work of insurgents,
noting that Afghan forces often use weapons to resolve personal disputes or
settle grudges.
Hammond, in a comment that may prompt claims he is reverting to cultural
stereotypes, then added: "Remember, this is a society where people traditionally
settle grievances by violence."
A Taliban spokesman claimed responsibility for Saturday's attack, and named the
shooters as Mohammad Wali and Sayed Wali, but the insurgent group sometimes
takes credit for actions it wishes to be associated with but has not carried
out.
The attackers had been in the police for nearly two years; one came from Helmand
and the other from the east, where insurgents have a strong presence, said Daoud
Ahmadi, a spokesman for the provincial governor. He confirmed that the shooter
who survived was captured late on Saturday night, and was being questioned, but
declined to comment on whether either attacker had Taliban links. The provincial
government has also sent a delegation to investigate the killing.
In a reminder that the rogue shooters are still a tiny – if deadly – minority, a
third Afghan policeman fired at the attackers, said a provincial police
spokesman, Fareed Ahmad.
Additional reporting by Mokhtar Amiri
Taliban infiltration fears grow as 'rogue'
Afghan police gun down British soldiers, NYT, 13.5.2012,
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/may/13/taliban-fears-afghan-police-british-soldiers
British soldiers killed in mortar attack in Afghanistan
Two members of Royal Logistics Corps die
after Taliban fire mortars at forward base in
Nahr-e Saraj, Helmand province
Friday 4 May 2012
19.44 BST
Guardian.co.uk
Conal Urquhart
This article was published on guardian.co.uk at 19.44 BST on Friday 4 May 2012.
Two British soldiers have been killed in a mortar attack on an
army base in Afghanistan, the Ministry of Defence said.
The two men were members of the Royal Logistics Corps and were attached to the
1st Battalion The Royal Welsh Battlegroup. Their families have been informed.
The soldiers were in forward operating base Ouellette, in the northern part of
Nahr-e Saraj district, in Helmand province, when it came under "indirect" mortar
fire from Taliban fighters on Friday.
Such mortars attacks on army bases in Afghanistan rarely cause injury because
the initial explosion from the launch tube warns everybody in the area that a
mortar has been fired.
A spokesman for Task Force Helmand, Major Ian Lawrence, said: "Sadly, I must
report that today two soldiers from the Royal Logistic Corps, attached to 1st
Battalion The Royal Welsh Battlegroup, were killed in an indirect fire attack on
their base.
"The thoughts and condolences of everyone serving in the Combined Force are with
their families and friends."
A total of 412 members of UK forces have died since operations in Afghanistan
began in October 2001.
British soldiers killed in mortar attack in
Afghanistan, G, 4.5.2012,
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2012/may/04/british-soldiers-killed-mortar-afghanistan
Six UK soldiers killed in Afghanistan
'would expect comrades to continue'
Commanding officer pays tribute to 'incredibly brave' men
and says their fellow soldiers remain committed to Afghan mission
Thursday 8 March 2012
14.38 GMT
Guardian.co.uk
Steven Morris
This article was published on guardian.co.uk at 14.38 GMT on Thursday 8 March
2012. A version appeared in the Guardian on Friday 9 March 2012.
It was last modified at 16.20 GMT on Thursday 8 March 2012.
The commanding officer of the six men killed when their
armoured vehicle was hit by a massive explosion in Afghanistan has paid tribute
to the soldiers and insisted the regiment remains committed to its mission.
Lieutenant Colonel Zac Stenning said the six men, five of whom were aged between
19 and 21, were "incredibly brave" and would expect their comrades to continue
to do their duty.
Speaking outside Battlesbury barracks in Warminster, Wiltshire, Stenning said:
"Barely 48 hours ago, we heard the terrible news that six soldiers from The 3rd
Battalion The Yorkshire Regiment were declared missing, believed killed, after
their Warrior armoured vehicle was caught in an explosion in southern
Afghanistan.
"As the commanding officer of a tight-knit family regiment, I would like to take
this opportunity to pay tribute to my incredibly brave men, and to offer my
deepest condolences to their families, and to their many friends."
He said a few words about each of the men. Stenning described the youngest,
Private Christopher Kershaw, 19, as a "true Yorkshire warrior … a star of the
future." The oldest, Sergeant Nigel Coupe, 33, was "quite simply the best".
Stenning added: "Six of our brothers have fallen. It has been a sad day but as
their brothers in arms we remain committed in our duty to continue with our
mission. They would want nothing less. Our loss is very great today but this of
course is nothing compared with the deep loss felt by their families and
friends. Our thoughts and prayers are firmly with them today."
Two of the six came from Huddersfield in West Yorkshire. The town's MP, Barry
Sheerman, called for a fresh Commons debate on operations in Afghanistan. He
said he did not believe Britain should "cut and run" from the mission but said
this week's events should bring the war back on to parliament's agenda.
The deaths take the toll of British personnel killed in Afghanistan to 404 and
represent the biggest loss of UK life in a single incident in Afghanistan since
2006, when an ageing RAF Nimrod crashed shortly after midair refuelling, with
the loss of all 14 people aboard.
Passing the symbolic milestone of 400 deaths has refocused attention on the
reason for the presence of British troops in Afghanistan, the timetable for
their removal and the capability of the Afghan army and police force to keep the
country secure once coalition troops have left.
Defence officials said the deaths would have no effect on strategy or tactics
deployed by British troops. If anything, it would encourage military commanders
to stay the course, they said. However, officials indicated ministers were well
aware of war-weariness among the public.
An investigation is under way to find out what caused the explosion that wrecked
the Warrior vehicle as it patrolled the border of Helmand and Kandahar in
southern Afghanistan on Tuesday. The force of the blast led to early speculation
that the vehicle was hit by an old mine, possibly from the Soviet era, but an
initial examination of the Warrior suggested it was probably a large Taliban
roadside bomb.
The extraction of the bodies was hampered by bad weather, defence officials
said.
David Cameron described the loss of the men as a "desperately sad day for our
country". He said it was a "reminder of the huge price that we are paying for
the work we are doing in Afghanistan and the sacrifice that our troops have made
and continue to make".
But the prime minister pointed out that the men were carrying out important work
to prevent Afghanistan becoming a haven for al-Qaida to plan attacks on the UK
or its allies.
Downing Street said last month that British troops would end their lead combat
role in Afghanistan by the end of next year. This will lead to Afghan security
forces being in sole charge of combat operations against insurgents by the end
of 2014, when most of Britain's 9,500-strong contingent will have returned home.
The timeframe may well be shortened at the Nato summit in Chicago in May.
However, Nato commanders in Afghanistan have told Downing Street and the White
House that they want to keep levels of the International Security Assistance
Force (Isaf) as high as possible between now and the end of the "fighting
season" next year – September 2013.
They insist this is the best way of ensuring the country does not descend into
chaos before the final withdrawal of combat troops. If Cameron agrees to Nato's
proposal, about 9,000 UK troops will remain in Helmand until autumn next year.
They would be under more pressure too: 16,000 US marines are withdrawing from
Helmand within months, and although Philip Hammond, the defence secretary, has
said Britain will not "backfill", Afghan forces are unlikely to be able to
shoulder the burden of security alone.
Privately, commanders also warn that the Isaf coalition could disintegrate if
either country signals an early exit. "That is the biggest danger for
Afghanistan," said one. "A hasty and chaotic exit must be avoided." But
political pressure is mounting on both sides of the Atlantic to accelerate the
drawdown.
The loss of the British soldiers this week is bound to raise questions about
their resources. Cameron accepted there was a need to make sure personnel had
all the equipment they needed to keep them "as safe as possible". But the MoD
was quick to quash suggestions that the vulnerability of the Warrior could be
blamed for the deaths.
The Warrior vehicle has been upgraded throughout its service in Iraq and
Afghanistan to try to combat the threat from roadside bombs and mines. A £1bn
upgrade was announced at the end of last year to extend its life to 2040 and
beyond but the MoD stressed this was not in response to "any identified
deficiencies" in its armour.
A spokesman said: "Warrior provides some of the highest levels of protection
available but sadly no armoured vehicle can provide absolute protection from the
very largest explosions."
Writing in the Times the chief of the defence staff, General Sir David Richards,
said the progress made since entering the country in the wake of the 9/11
terrorist attacks was "truly impressive" and vowed to continue the strategy and
tactics employed by British troops.
"As progress continues the work of our servicemen and women will draw down but
our efforts will endure," he said. "Sadly as we hold that course it is likely
that others will lose loved ones."
Richards added that he and his troops did not underestimate the dangers faced in
Afghanistan, but understood "the importance of the mission with which we are
charged". "We will hold our nerve," he added.
The defence secretary, Philip Hammond, claimed morale in Afghanistan remained
"extremely high" because soldiers knew they had an important job to do. He said:
"The people on the ground are acutely conscious of the risks that they are
running but they are also incredibly proud of the job that they are doing and
rightly so, and hugely satisfied by the level of public support that they have
back home."
The former foreign secretary David Miliband warned that there was no "political
strategy" in Afghanistan to secure the peace after British military operations
came to an end.
"The absolute key is that at the moment we have extraordinary bravery, as well
as sacrifice, intelligence and skill, from British service people and that is
tactically making advances, but what is missing is a clear strategy," he told
the BBC Radio 4 Today programme.
"That is absolutely key to the last two years of British combat operations. By
strategy I mean a plan to make sure there is a sustainable peace in Afghanistan
after our time there in military operations."
He added: "We know that, in the end, there needs to be a political solution in
Afghanistan – all the tribes in, all the neighbours onside and al-Qaida kept
out. It's the absence of that political strategy that is brought into stark
relief by the terrible news yesterday."
Six UK soldiers killed in Afghanistan
'would expect comrades to continue', G, 8.3.2012,
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2012/mar/08/soldiers-afghanistan-expect-comrades-continue
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