04 November, 2009 20:31 PM

Five British Soldiers Shot Dead In Afghanistan

LONDON, Nov 4 (Bernama) -- Five British soldiers were killed and several others injured when an Afghan policeman fired on them in Helmand province, Afghanistan, on Tuesday afternoon, China's Xinhua news agency reported.

Xinhua said that the British Ministry of Defense confirmed on Wednesday that the five soldiers, three from the Grenadier Guards and two from the Royal Military Police, were shot dead by the policeman at a police checkpoint.

A military spokesman said the policeman could have been involved in a dispute with his commander or have a link with the Taliban.

An investigation had been launched, Xinhua said.

It is the highest number of British soldiers killed in a single incident since the U.S.-led invasion in 2001, taking the British death toll to 229.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said: "They (the soldiers) fought to make Afghanistan more secure, but above all to make Britain safer from the terrorism and extremism which continue to threaten us from the border areas of Afghanistan and Pakistan."

-- BERNAMA

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