 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| . |  |
. |
British soldier killed in Afghanistan, possibly friendly fire
London (AFP) Dec 21, 2009 A British soldier has been shot and killed in southern Afghanistan, the Ministry of Defence said Monday, in what officials said could have been the result of friendly fire. The soldier from The Royal Military Police "was killed as a result of small arms fire that happened in the Sangin area, in central Helmand province, during the evening of December 20, 2009", the ministry said. A later statement added that "there is a possibility that the latest death in Afghanistan was caused as a result of friendly fire", and an investigation was underway. No conclusion would be reached until after the inquest, it said. The soldier's death, the second at the weekend, brings to 241 the number of British troops killed in Afghanistan since the US-led invasion in October 2001. Some 104 of these have occurred this year, making it the deadliest year for Britain's armed forces since the 1982 Falklands War. The rising death toll has hit public support for the war in Afghanistan, where almost 10,000 British troops are battling Taliban insurgents as part of an international coalition. Prime Minister Gordon Brown's government has been forced to defend Britain's role in the campaign as well as criticism that troops lack proper equipment. Families of soldiers killed delivered a petition Monday to Brown's Downing Street offices against the conflict containing between 25,000 and 30,000 signatures, according to organisers. "We would like our troops to be brought home from Afghanistan. This is a war that was under-funded, under-equipped and under false pretences," said Graham Knight, whose son died in Afghanistan. Share This Article With Planet Earth
Related Links News From Across The Stans
Look east for lessons in US Afghan surgeSarkani, Afghanistan (AFP) Dec 20, 2009 For a month Afghan soldiers have guarded a bitterly cold mountain peak, coming under fire and keeping watch over an insurgent-infested valley near the Pakistan border. "Yesterday we were under attack all morning. They shot at us with machine guns and (Russian) dashakas," said the sergeant, decked out in new camouflage uniform and cradling an M-16, the US rifle slowly replacing the ... read more |
|
|
| The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2009 - SpaceDaily. AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement |
del.icio.us
Digg
Reddit
YahooMyWeb
Google
Facebook