Soldiers gunned down by ‘Afghan policeman’ are named

Three British soldiers shot dead by a man wearing an Afghan police uniform have been named by the Ministry of Defence. Guardsman Craig Andrew Roderick and Guardsman Apete Saunikalou Ratumaiyale Tuisovurua of the 1st Battalion the Welsh Guards and Warrant Officer Leonard Perran Thomas of the Royal Corps of Signals died on Sunday.

The men, members of an Afghan Police Advisory Team, had been helping organise a meeting of elders at Checkpoint Kamparack Pul in Nahr-e-Saraj, Helmand Province, when they were shot and fatally wounded.

A man believed to be responsible for the shooting is in custody, the MoD said.

WO Thomas, 44, was on his final tour in Afghanistan.

Guardsman Roderick, 22, was a trainee bricklayer before joining the Welsh Guards in September 2009.

Fijian Guardsman Tuisovurua, 28, had been a soldier for little more than a year, having finished his training and joined the regiment in June 2011.