Soldier shot dead by Afghan colleague

AN AFGHAN army recruit fired on and killed at least one Nato soldier in Southern Helmand province yesterday, the third confirmed death of a foreign soldier within 24 hours.

The incident again highlights security risks as the Nato alliance prepares to hand over responsibility to Afghan personnel.

The latest shooting occurred barely 15 miles from the city of Lashkar Gar, where security was to be handed over to Afghan troops this week.

It is one of seven places across Afghanistan that have been chosen for the first phase of a years-long transfer due to be completed by the end of 2014.

"The shooting happened during a joint security patrol … he (the Afghan soldier] ran away after," said a senior police investigator, who asked not to be named as he was not authorised to speak to the media.

The Nato-led International Security Assistance Force (Isaf) said it was investigating an incident in southern Afghanistan.

"An individual wearing an Afghan National Army uniform turned his weapon against Isaf service members in southern Afghanistan yesterday, killing one service member," Isaf said.

Nato has yet to identify the murdered soldier or release his nationality. Two other Isaf soldiers were killed the previous day, one in a militant attack, the other in a bombing. Their nationalities have not yet been disclosed either.

Taleban spokesman Qari Mohammad Yousuf claimed an ANA (Afghan National Army) recruit surrendered to the Taleban after killing five foreign soldiers outside Lashkar Gah.

"He wasn't one of us, he asked for protection and we agreed," Yousuf said from an undisclosed location. The hardline Islamists often exaggerate death tolls and their own exploits.

British, American and Nato forces are ramping up efforts to train the Afghan army and police for the gradual transition of the country back into Afghan hands by 2014. British troops have been involved in training thousands of ANA soldiers.

Highlighting the difficulty of that task, however, have been a series of incidents over the past 18 months where Afghan police and soldiers, or insurgents who have infiltrated security forces, have turned their weapons on their mentors.

In a similar incident in Helmand in May, two American troops were killed by a rogue ANA soldier at a police compound.