British troops killed by gunman in Afghan police uniform

Three British soldiers have been killed by a gunman wearing a police uniform in southern Afghanistan, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has said. Two served with the 1st Battalion Welsh Guards and one with the Royal Corps of Signals. Next of kin have been told. The MoD said the soldiers were shot and fatally wounded on Sunday as they left a checkpoint in Helmand province. More than 20 foreign personnel have been killed in so-called rogue shootings in Afghanistan this year. An MoD spokesman said of the latest casualties: "Their loss will be felt deeply across the task force. However, that will be nothing compared with the grief experienced by their families at home. "Our thoughts and prayers are with them at this extremely difficult time." The soldiers were part of a Nato-led Isaf force who have been training Afghan counterparts ahead of a handover of security responsibility by 2014. The shooting happened at Checkpoint Kamparack Pul in Nahr-e-Saraj, where the soldiers were attending a meeting of elders. They were shot at as they were leaving the checkpoint. The gunman was injured and later detained, Nato said. Observers say the rogue shootings have eroded morale among foreign forces. The BBC's Caroline Wyatt said the attacks are a bitter blow for UK forces in Helmand BBC defence correspondent Caroline Wyatt says background checks are carried out on Afghan troops and police in a bid to ensure that people are not sympathetic to insurgent factions. Isaf, Nato's force in the country, said in a statement on Sunday: "An individual wearing an Afghan National Civil Order Police uniform turned his weapon against International Security Assistance Force service members in southern Afghanistan today, killing three service members." The attack appears to be the latest in a string of attacks in which members of the Afghan security or police forces have opened fire on international allies. L/Cpl Lee Thomas Davies, 27, from the 1st Battalion Welsh Guards, and Cpl Brent John McCarthy, 25, of the Royal Air Force, were shot dead at a patrol base in the Lashkar Gar district of Helmand Province by members of the Afghan police force in May. They had been providing security for a meeting with local officials when two people wearing Afghan police uniforms opened fire. Growing resentment And a rogue Afghan soldier shot dead Sgt Luke Taylor, 33, of the Royal Marines, and L/Cpl Michael Foley, 25, of the Adjutant General's Corps, at the entrance to the UK headquarters in Lashkar Gar, Helmand Province, in March. The Taliban claimed responsibility after 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. In February, public opinion against the foreign forces in Afghanistan was inflamed by revelations that US troops burned copies of the Koran at a base in Afghanistan - reportedly by accident. The shooting of 16 Afghans by a US soldier in March has also created resentment.