Army bungles blamed for soldier’s death

By TOM WILKINSON
Published on 08/09/2012 01:54

A SERIES of “mistaken beliefs and cumulative failures” led a US Apache helicopter to launch a deadly attack on a British base in Afghanistan, a coroner has ruled.

Lance Corporal Christopher Roney, from Sunderland, died from head injuries suffered in the onslaught at Patrol Base Almas in Sangin, Helmand, on 
21 December, 2009.

Sunderland coroner Derek Winter yesterday listed a series of errors made leading up to the tragedy. He will write to Defence Secretary Philip Hammond and said “lessons must be learned”.

The soldier from 3rd Battalion, The Rifles was fatally injured while manning a position during a fight with the Taleban after the enemy detonated a huge bomb.

His platoon was holding off the Taleban attack when, without their knowledge, two US gunships were called in to help.

One gunship fired 200 rounds into the base – despite the flagpole, machine gun, barbed wire and men in uniform. Aircrews were told it was an enemy 
position.

When British Army soldiers saw pictures beamed from a camera on an unmanned drone, they misidentified the base as an enemy stronghold and guided the Apaches to the location, which was not on official maps.

Soldiers at Almas were firing mortar illumination to light up the battlezone, but this was detected on mortar-locating radar and mistaken as insurgents 
firing at the allies.

Troops at another base watched the scenes unfolding on a camera system, but they failed to recognise Almas because its appearance had changed following the Taleban bomb.

The “total disorientation” led commanders to authorise the Apache crews to attack with 30mm chain-gun fire.

Mr Winter appreciated the conditions were “extremely challenging”, but said the exemplary action under pressure by L/Cpl Roney and his comrades had not been matched by soldiers elsewhere.

Related Articles

• US helicopter gunned down British soldier in own base

  A BRITISH soldier was killed in Afghanistan after being hit by fire from a US Apache helicopter which wrongly identified his base as an enemy stronghold, a coroner said.

  0 Comments

• British soldier recalls fatal friendly fire attack

  A SOLDIER injured when a US Apache helicopter strafed a British Army base in Afghanistan told an inquest yesterday that he thought he was going to die in the “friendly fire” incident.

  0 Comments

• Saltires at half mast in Helmand

  AS THE hot desert sun sank across Camp Bastion last night, two Scottish soldiers stopped to pay their respects to one of their own.

• Afghanistan carnage: eight die in 36 hours

  EIGHT British soldiers have been killed – including five in one patrol – in less than 36 hours of operations in Afghanistan, it emerged last night.

• Scotland's bravest of the brave honoured

  TWO Scots-based Royal Marine commandos have recieved the second highest military award for their incredible feats of courage in combat in Afghanistan.