Two British troops shot dead by Afghan army gunman

The attack in Lashkar Gar appeared to be the latest in a string of “green on blue” attacks in which Afghan security forces have turned on their international colleagues or mentors.

They have become increasingly common over the past year, particularly since the burning of Korans at a US base in February which led to riots and the deaths of six US soldiers.

Details were still sketchy about the latest incident. A Nato source confirmed the victims were British.

A spokesman said that a man in an Afghan soldier’s uniform turned his weapon against the soldiers. Coalition forces then returned fire.

“The gunman was shot and killed,” said a Nato spokesman.

There have been more than 45 attacks by Afghans on Nato colleagues in Afghanistan since 2007, more than 7% of those in the last two years.

It is also possible that the killer was an insurgent who donned an Afghan army uniform to get into the base or to get closer to his targets. Army uniforms are readily available in Afghan markets and militants have used the tactic in the past to launch sneak attacks.

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.

The Taliban later claimed responsibility.

The victims were Warrant Officer Class 1 Darren Chant, 40, from Walthamstow, London, Sergeant Matthew Telford, 37, from Grimsby, and Guardsman Jimmy Major, 18, also from Grimsby, all members of 1st Battalion The Grenadier Guards, and Royal Military Policemen Corporal Steven Boote, 22, from Birkenhead, and Corporal Nicholas Webster-Smith, 24, from Brackley, Northamptonshire.

The attack also comes two weeks after a US soldier went on a pre-dawn shooting rampage in neighbouring Kandahar province, killing at least 16 people and wounding six.