jamieooh
05-16-2012, 08:37 PM
http://www.bfbs.com/news/sites/ssvc.com.bfbs.news/files/images/internal_articles/silouette_sniper_0.jpgSoldiers stationed at a remote observation post were not aware of the existence of another post where a British soldier was fatally shot, an inquest heard.
Lance Corporal Michael Pritchard, who was 22, was killed by a gunshot wound to the ribcage believed to have been fired from the remote observation post, known as a sangar, by Lance Corporal Malcolm Graham, of The Royal Scots Borderers, 1st Battalion. He thought he was shooting at Taliban insurgents, the hearing at Eastbourne Town Hall was told.
LCpl Pritchard, who was on secondment with 4th Battalion The Rifles, was deployed to the observation post N30 on December 20 2009 to watch a blind spot on an access road, Route 611, in the Sangin area, central Helmand Province, Afghanistan, to make sure Taliban insurgents did not plant improvised explosive devices (IEDs) in the road, the court was told.
Rifleman Ainsley Nash, who was deployed to the remote sangar that night, said he spotted a heat source using viper night sight at 7.45pm which he believed to be a human figure crouching or kneeling in the road, the court heard.
Mr Nash, who was with Rifleman Nathan Bennett and Lance Corporal Craig Knight, assumed the heat source was on the highway when he saw a second heat source moving towards the first, the inquest heard.
He said: "I recall LCpl Knight saying he had his eyes on the source and that there were two people in the area of the road. He tried to transmit this to the operations room over the radio.
"The comms with our Bowman radio was very difficult and it was not working."
Mr Knight asked Mr Nash to use his personal radio to contact Rifleman Steven Preece in the northern sangar so that he could relay the information about the heat sources to the operations room and ask whether they had permission to fire warning shots, the inquest was told.
Mr Preece told them they could not fire warning shots but they could let off mini flares, the court heard.
The soldiers then started having trouble with their personal radios, Mr Nash said.
He told the court he fired some illumes at the heat sources, making the assumption that someone was digging in the road to place an IED.
The soldiers let off more illumes and fired three to five rounds from a machine gun, the court heard.
He said Mr Bennett would have needed to get permission from his platoon commander to do this.
The inquest heard that Mr Graham and Corporal Jonathan Dolton arrived and Mr Graham set up his sniper rifle in the firing position.
The sniper fired warning shots while illume was fired and the next thing Mr Nash heard was "man down" over the radio.
Mr Bennett said he and Mr Knight believed the figures in the road to be hostile and fired warning shots under the Rules of Engagement, which meant they thought there was an imminent threat to life and they did not need permission to shoot.
He said a message was then relayed from the northern sangar that they could fire single shots only.
He told the court Mr Graham arrived with Mr Dolton and asked for crates to rest his rifle on as his bipod stand was broken.
Mr Bennett said he heard two single shots 30 seconds apart.
He said Mr Dolton told him he thought one of the heat sources had been hit.
Not long after they heard "man down" over the radio, he said.
He added: "LCpl Knight sat down and said he felt sick.
"The sniper then said: 'Don't tell me we have been shooting at our own blokes'.
"I said we could not have been as there was no one near the road."
http://www.bfbs.com/news/afghanistan/sniper-heard-man-down-after-firing-57357.html
Lance Corporal Michael Pritchard, who was 22, was killed by a gunshot wound to the ribcage believed to have been fired from the remote observation post, known as a sangar, by Lance Corporal Malcolm Graham, of The Royal Scots Borderers, 1st Battalion. He thought he was shooting at Taliban insurgents, the hearing at Eastbourne Town Hall was told.
LCpl Pritchard, who was on secondment with 4th Battalion The Rifles, was deployed to the observation post N30 on December 20 2009 to watch a blind spot on an access road, Route 611, in the Sangin area, central Helmand Province, Afghanistan, to make sure Taliban insurgents did not plant improvised explosive devices (IEDs) in the road, the court was told.
Rifleman Ainsley Nash, who was deployed to the remote sangar that night, said he spotted a heat source using viper night sight at 7.45pm which he believed to be a human figure crouching or kneeling in the road, the court heard.
Mr Nash, who was with Rifleman Nathan Bennett and Lance Corporal Craig Knight, assumed the heat source was on the highway when he saw a second heat source moving towards the first, the inquest heard.
He said: "I recall LCpl Knight saying he had his eyes on the source and that there were two people in the area of the road. He tried to transmit this to the operations room over the radio.
"The comms with our Bowman radio was very difficult and it was not working."
Mr Knight asked Mr Nash to use his personal radio to contact Rifleman Steven Preece in the northern sangar so that he could relay the information about the heat sources to the operations room and ask whether they had permission to fire warning shots, the inquest was told.
Mr Preece told them they could not fire warning shots but they could let off mini flares, the court heard.
The soldiers then started having trouble with their personal radios, Mr Nash said.
He told the court he fired some illumes at the heat sources, making the assumption that someone was digging in the road to place an IED.
The soldiers let off more illumes and fired three to five rounds from a machine gun, the court heard.
He said Mr Bennett would have needed to get permission from his platoon commander to do this.
The inquest heard that Mr Graham and Corporal Jonathan Dolton arrived and Mr Graham set up his sniper rifle in the firing position.
The sniper fired warning shots while illume was fired and the next thing Mr Nash heard was "man down" over the radio.
Mr Bennett said he and Mr Knight believed the figures in the road to be hostile and fired warning shots under the Rules of Engagement, which meant they thought there was an imminent threat to life and they did not need permission to shoot.
He said a message was then relayed from the northern sangar that they could fire single shots only.
He told the court Mr Graham arrived with Mr Dolton and asked for crates to rest his rifle on as his bipod stand was broken.
Mr Bennett said he heard two single shots 30 seconds apart.
He said Mr Dolton told him he thought one of the heat sources had been hit.
Not long after they heard "man down" over the radio, he said.
He added: "LCpl Knight sat down and said he felt sick.
"The sniper then said: 'Don't tell me we have been shooting at our own blokes'.
"I said we could not have been as there was no one near the road."
http://www.bfbs.com/news/afghanistan/sniper-heard-man-down-after-firing-57357.html