Three British soldiers killed by Afghan soldier

The attack targeted a base in the Nahr-e-Saraj district in the Helmand Province. The soldiers formed part of the 1st Battalion The Royal Gurkha Rifles.

A spokesperson for Task Force Helmand said the killer "betrayed" his colleagues in the International Security Assistance Force and the Afghan National Army.

Defence Secretary Liam Fox called the attack a "despicable and cowardly act, and my thoughts go out to the family and friends of those who have lost their lives." The MoD said the killer used "a combination of weapons" in the "premeditated attack". The killer probably used a shoulder-mounted rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) launcher. The other weapon was believed to be a gun.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai sent a letter of apology to the British government, and a joint Nato-Afghan team is investigating the incident.

"This is a combined, joint mission, Afghan and Alliance troopers fighting shoulder-to-shoulder against the Taliban and other extremists,” US Commander of the Afghanistan mission General David Petraeus said. The latest death toll of British soldiers killed in Afghanistan since operations began amounts to 317.