LONDON, (Reuters) – An Afghan policeman, who the Taliban said was one of its fighters, has killed five British soldiers at a checkpoint in Afghanistan, raising the possibility that the militants might have infiltrated the police force.
The gunman opened fire at a military compound in Helmand province on Tuesday, a day after Afghan election officials cancelled a run-off vote in disputed presidential elections and gave President Hamid Karzai a second term in office.
British soldiers returned fire but the policeman escaped and is still at large, a defence ministry spokeswoman said. An investigation into the shooting is under way.
“It appears that they were targeted because they were engaged in what our enemies fear most — they were mentoring and training Afghan forces,” British Prime Minister Gordon Brown told parliament.