Afghan policeman shoots dead three British soldiers

An Afghan policeman has shot dead three English Army men in Southern Afghanistan, British Defense Ministry has confirmed. The Ministry of Defense told that the soldiers were gunned down when they were leaving a checkpoint in Helmand province on Sunday.

The gunman was also injured and taken to detention later. The number of foreign troops’ deaths in Afghanistan has crossed twenty this year. These types of assaults are named “attacks by green Over Blue” (green represents Afghan army, while blue depicts the color of NATO).

The killed soldiers were part of ISAF force, which is training Afghan soldiers for their future responsibility. It should be noted that foreign troops will leave Afghanistan in 2014.

The incident took place at the Kamparack Pul Checkpoint in Nahr-e-Saraj, where the soldiers were attending a meeting.

According to the BBC, one of the injured soldiers is also a Britisher. British Prime Minister David Cameron expressed his utmost grief, saying that the incident was a shock for him and he was "deeply saddened by the appalling news."

"This tragic incident again demonstrates the very real risks that our brave soldiers face every day. We will do everything possible to find out how this happened, and learn any lessons for the future," he said in a statement, according to the BBC.

Opposition leader ED Milliband also commented on the incident, saying that the killings reminded them of "our duty to do everything we can to protect" English troops. On the other hand, Defense Secretary Halmond indicated that the incident would not bring any immediate change in the UK’s policy. He also said that tens of thousands of coalition army troops were peacefully working with their Afghan counterparts, who are going to take the responsibility of future peace keeping in 2014.

This incident also raises questions on the alertness of NATO forces in selecting the Afghan people into the country’s army.

The latest deaths mean a total of 26 ISAF personnel have been killed so far this year, compared with 35 for the whole of 2011.