But for British (and American) authorities, still no cluebat in sight. “Afghan police kill two UK servicemen in Helmand province,” from the BBC, May 13 (thanks to David):
Two British servicemen have been shot dead in southern Afghanistan by members of the Afghan national police force, the Ministry of Defence has said.
One was a soldier from 1st Battalion Welsh Guards and the other an airman from the Royal Air Force.
The MoD said the two had been providing security near a base in the Lashkar Gah district of Helmand province. Their next of kin have been informed.
The number of UK military deaths in Afghanistan since 2001 is now 414.
The men, who were serving as part of an advisory team, were killed on Saturday as they provided security for a meeting with local officials near Patrol Base Attal.
Defence Secretary Philip Hammond said he believed one of the gunmen was then killed by his Afghan police colleagues, while a second escaped.
‘Thousands of contacts’
He told BBC One’s Andrew Marr show so-called green-on-blue attacks – in which members of the Afghan security forces attack international allies – were rare, and the motivation for the latest incident remained unclear.
“British forces work alongside Afghan forces every day with thousands of contacts with them every day,” he said.
“This is a country that has an insurgency going on in it and, sadly, occasionally, these events occur.
The rise in “green-on-blue” killings, now averaging one a week this year, is having an impact on trust in a relationship which is key for Nato’s exit strategy….