Tributes paid to tragic Afghan victims

Two British servicemen shot dead by members of the Afghan police force in Helmand on Saturday have been named by the Ministry of Defence.

Lance Corporal Lee Thomas Davies, 27, from the 1st Battalion Welsh Guards, was killed alongside Corporal Brent John McCarthy, 25, of the Royal Air Force at a patrol base in the Lashkar Gah district of Helmand province.

The servicemen were providing security for a meeting with local officials when two gunmen wearing Afghan police uniforms opened fire.

The family of Cpl McCarthy released a statement yesterday which read: “Brent was a loving, sensitive young man. He excelled at sport and had the whole world in front of him.”

L/Cpl Davies, from Carmarthen, who joined the Welsh Guards in 2010 was described as an “exemplary member of the Welsh Guards” and was “an extremely popular and respected member of his company and platoon”.