Army soldier deaths dominate PMQs

Five British soldiers have been killed by a "rogue" policeman in Afghanistan. The officer turned on them and started firing inside a military compound. The soldiers, three from the Grenadier Guards and two from the Royal Military Police, died in the Nad-e'Ali district of Helmand Province on Tuesday afternoon. Their families have been informed. Army spokesman Lieutenant Colonel David Wakefield said: "The soldiers concerned were mentoring Afghan police. They were working inside and living inside an Afghan national police checkpoint." He said: "It would appear, and it is our initial understanding, that an individual Afghan policeman possibly acting with another started firing within the checkpoint before fleeing the scene." He stressed that the attack did not come as a result of any breakdown or fight between British and Afghan forces. The gunman's whereabouts are unknown but British forces are hunting him. Prime Minister Gordon Brown paid tribute to the soldiers describing their deaths as a "terrible loss". Britain's Armed Forces have suffered the bloodiest year of action since the Falklands War. The death toll for this year in Afghanistan now stands at 92.

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ITN | November 4, 2009

Tags:. .informed. .eali. .possibly. .scene. .gunman