5 British soldiers killed, 6 injured by Afghan policeman in Helmand

The British Defense Ministry said Wednesday that five soldiers died Tuesday in Afghanistans Helmand province, apparently in an attack by what a British officer called a rogue Afghan policeman. The death toll represented one of the highest British fatalities in a single attack since the invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 and brought the number of British soldiers to have died in the conflict to 229. Lt. Col. David Wakefield, a British officer in Helmand, said an individual rogue Afghan policeman opened fire on British during in the southern province on Tuesday. It was not clear whether the police officer had links to the Taliban insurgents who have been fighting an increasingly bold campaign against Afghan and NATO forces. The police officer was said to have fled after opening fire. Six British soldiers were also wounded. In London, a spokeswoman for the Defense Ministry, who spoke in return for anonymity under ministry rules, said every effort was being made to hunt down the attacker. The incident took place at a checkpoint, the British military said. An Afghan national policeman from the checkpoint started firing without warning before anyone could really respond, Reuters quoted a Defense Ministry spokesman as saying.