Renegade kills two as Afghan talks start

The shooting involved an Afghan Army trainer at a weapons training area near Mazar-e-Sharif in the north of the country, who is believed to have turned on his colleagues.

The suspect was also killed in yesterday's incident, along with another Afghan soldier, during routine weapons proficiency training at Camp Shaheen.

Brigadier General Josef Blotz, spokesman for the International Security Assistance Force (Isaf), said an investigation into the shooting has begun.

"The actions of this individual are not representative of the thousands of men and women who train and fight side-by-side with Isaf every day to protect their fellow citizens from insurgent brutality," he said.

The incident comes a week after the killing of three British servicemen at the hands of an Afghan policeman and on the day ministers from more than 70 nations endorsed a strategy for the withdrawal of Nato-led foreign troops – including about 10,000 from the UK.

At a major summit in Kabul, it was agreed Afghan forces should start taking responsibility for security in areas of the country this year and be in charge of all provinces within four years.

Opening the conference, Afghan President Hamid Karzai said: "I remain determined that our Afghan national security forces will be responsible for all military and law enforcement operations throughout our country by 2014."

The conference agreed a communique backing Mr Karzai's target and

stating that conditions would be examined with a view to launching the security transition by the end of this year.

Foreign Secretary and Richmond MP William Hague told the gathering: "The transition to full Afghan security responsibility should be gradual and determined by Afghan capability, but it should be able to start soon.

"For our part, the UK will continue to provide support and training to the Afghan security forces until that goal is achieved."

Later he added: "We are trying to make sure that the Afghan state can look after itself in the future so that our forces don't have to be here in the long term.

"I think it is possible for them to be able to run the country and that's why we are saying in five years' time we won't have our combat troops in action here in Afghanistan."

Prime Minister David Cameron has already indicated that he wants most of the UK's detachment in Afghanistan to come home by 2015.

The conference comes during one of the bloodiest periods for international forces since the toppling of the Taliban administration in 2001, with 13 British deaths this month alone.

A new report has revealed that other soldiers are being treated for wounds caused by explosive devices and gunshots every day.

RAF Flight Sergeant Lorraine Lawton, 38, from Lanarkshire, a senior emergency nurse at the Camp Bastion hospital, said she sees a big difference in casualty numbers since her first tour in 2001.

She said: "We are dealing with trauma on a daily basis, soldiers that have been injured from IED (improvised explosive device) blasts, gunshot wounds and then all the usual things you'd deal with as a nurse back in the UK."