• Shooter tricked his way into British camp before opening fire '3 or 4 metres' from troops
  
• Soldiers shoot dead attacker in gunfight
  
• Taliban claim shooter was was in close contact and notified insurgents before attack

By Matt Blake

PUBLISHED: 09:50 GMT, 26 March 2012 | UPDATED: 14:51 GMT, 26 March 2012

Two British soldiers have been shot dead by an Afghan National Army gunman who tricked his way into their camp, it was revealed today.

The shooter arrived at the gates of the British HQ in Lashkar Gar in Helmand province by pretending to be with the security detail of a visiting delegation of officials from Kabul, said Helmand's ANA deputy commander Ghulam Farooq Parwani.

He managed to get to within three or four metres of his victims before opening fire, Dept. Cmdr. Parwani said, and was shot dead in return fire.

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Dept Cmdr Parwani said the shooter was from the eastern Nangarhar province and had been in the army for four years.

The Afghan soldier arrived at the gate of the base in an army vehicle.

He was able to get close to the British troops by claiming that he had been assigned to provide security for a delegation of government officials from Kabul who were visiting the base.

'He got close to the foreign troops - three or four meters - and he opened fire,' Mr Parwani said.

'Then the foreign troops killed him.'

A Taliban spokesman said the shooter was an Afghan soldier who was in close contact with insurgents and had notified them of his planned attack before carrying it out.

Defence Secretary Philip Hammond confirmed the killing today in an announcement to the Commons.

He told MPs that details of the incident were still sketchy and next of kin were being informed.

'Our thoughts, as ever, are with their families, for whom this will be a deeply personal tragedy,' he said.

'Details of the incident are still emerging but it appears that a member of the Afghan National Army opened fire at the entrance gate to the British headquarters in Lashkar Gar city, killing the two British service personnel.

'The assailant was killed by return fire.'

Shadow defence secretary Jim Murphy added his tribute to the victims, saying they were in the 'thoughts of all of us'.

He questioned the procedures for vetting recruits to the Afghan security forces.

He said: 'Since 2007, Afghan forces have attacked Nato forces, resulting in 75 fatalities. Most of these attacks have taken place over the past two years.

'In light of previous incidents, what new procedures have been implemented to vet Afghan recruits?'

Armed Forces Minister Nick Harvey said 'force protection' was kept under review and added: 'We have changed our procedures in the light of events, both recently and over a longer period of time.'

Mr Harvey said the decision to partner UK troops with Afghan forces involved 'a considerable degree of risk' but 'this is a risk that the last government was right to compute that it is worth taking and it's the only way, frankly, we are going to ingrain the necessary skills and culture into the Afghan forces and complete our mentoring task'.

The shooting appears to be the latest in a string of 'green on blue' attacks in which members of the Afghan security forces have opened fire on international allies.

Five British soldiers were killed by a rogue Afghan policeman in November 2009. The gunman opened fire on the men in a military compound in Nad e-Ali before fleeing. The Taliban later claimed responsibility.

The victims were Warrant Officer Class 1 Darren Chant, 40, from Walthamstow, London, Sergeant Matthew Telford, 37, from Grimsby, and Guardsman Jimmy Major, 18, also from Grimsby, all members of 1st Battalion The Grenadier Guards, and Royal Military Policemen Corporal Steven Boote, 22, from Birkenhead, and Corporal Nicholas Webster-Smith, 24, from Brackley, Northamptonshire.

Such attacks have become increasingly common in recent months, particularly since the burning of copies of the Koran at a US base in February.

Fifteen Nato service members have been killed by Afghan security officials or militants disguised in their uniforms so far this year.