Pictured together then Afghan turned gun on soldier

CORPORAL Brent McCarthy poses with the rogue Afghan police officer who shot and killed him just seconds after this picture was taken.

Cpl Brent McCarthy was shot dead by a rogue Afghan police officer. Picture: PA

Cpl McCarthy, 25, was killed alongside Lance Corporal Lee Davies, 27, both of the 1st Battalion Welsh Guards, in Helmand Province, on 12 May last year.

The pair had taking part in “banter and general chit chat” with what they thought were two Afghan uniformed police officers as they guarded a base in Lashkar Gah.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Defence announced last night that a British soldier had been killed in a suicide blast while on patrol in the province.

The “hugely experienced” soldier from the 3rd Battalion The Mercian Regiment (Staffords) died from an explosion during a vehicle-borne suicide attack.

He was taking part in a patrol in the Kamparak area, 40km north east of the provincial capital.

The death takes to 446 the number of UK service members who have lost their lives since operations in Afghanistan began in October 2001 and is the eighth this year.

The soldier had not yet been named. Next of kin have been informed.