bobdina
11-06-2009, 04:12 PM
SAS join search in Helmand for gunman who killed five soldiers
Soldiers who were shot in Afghanistan this week
A full-scale manhunt involving British special forces and Afghan police units is under way in Helmand to try to find the gunman responsible for shooting dead five soldiers in Nad-e Ali.
Tributes to the soldiers murdered by an Afghan police officer poured in yesterday as the death of another British serviceman was announced.
The victims of the lone gunman ranged from the Regimental Sergeant Major of the Grenadier Guards who was due to become a father for the fourth time, to a guardsman about to celebrate his 19th birthday. Warrant Officer Class 1 Darren “Daz” Chant, 40, regarded by his comrades in the Grenadier Guards as a legendary figure, was due to have been told the day he died that he was to be commissioned as an officer, rising in rank to captain.
The sergeant-major had also been on a shortlist of three to become the most senior non-commissioned officer in the Army — Academy Sergeant-Major at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. His reputation as a courageous soldier was enhanced by the revelation that he saved the life of a Grenadier Guardsman whose leg had been blown off after an explosion in Helmand.
He put Guardsman Scott Blaney, 22, on his shoulders and ran more than a mile to where a helicopter was waiting to evacuate him. “I owe him everything,” Guardsman Blaney told The Sun.
The latest soldier killed was from the 3rd Battalion The Rifles, who died as a result of an explosion near Sangin in central Helmand. He was the 230th member of the Armed Forces to die in Afghanistan since 2001, and the 93rd to be killed this year, nearly twice as many as last year. In the hunt for the Afghan gunman who fired a machinegun at British troops relaxing after a patrol at a checkpoint in Nad-e Ali, the Royal Military Police special investigations branch is questioning all the witnesses to the shooting, including soldiers injured during the attack.
The SAS and Special Boat Service have been brought in to follow every lead that might uncover the whereabouts of the gunman, who vanished from the scene of the slaughter. The Taleban claimed he was safely under their protection.
Six soldiers who were injured in the attack have been flown back to a hospital in Selly Oak, Birmingham.
The Royal Military Police are investigating whether the gunman, identified as Gulbuddin, was acting alone in response to a “ticking off” he received from one of the British military mentors reportedly Warrant Officer 1 Chant, or that he was a Taleban infiltrator who picked his moment when the British troops were most vulnerable.
The police commander in Shin Kalay, where the five British soldiers were gunned down, confirmed that the gunman was acting alone and that he escaped the scene on foot, scotching suggestions he had an accomplice and had fled on a motorbike, the Taleban’s favoured form of transport.
Haji Manan, the checkpoint commander, also revealed that Gulbuddin should have been moved to a different base days before the attack, but the troops were too busy fighting the Taleban.
Lieutenant-General Jim Dutton, the British deputy commander of Nato forces in Afghanistan, warned it was unlikely to be the last such incident, although he said they were “very rare” and should be seen in perspective. “There are over 90,000 policemen in this country. The vast majority are doing a good job for the future of Afghanistan,” he said.
Warrant Officer 1 Chant was present at the reinforced checkpoint where the killings occurred on Tuesday because the Grenadier Guards battle group, recently arrived in Helmand for its six-month tour, had identified the need for increased mentoring of the Afghan National Police within its area of operations.
“WO1 Chant was carved from the very rock that forms the foundations of a regiment,” the Ministry of Defence said.
He leaves his wife Nausheen, who is pregnant, and three children from a previous marriage. Mrs Chant said: “I am devastated by the loss of my husband. Our unborn son will never meet his father, but he will know him through his legacy.”
Paying tribute to the five men — three from the Grenadier Guards and two from the Royal Military Police — Bob Ainsworth, the Defence Secretary, said: “I was so very sorry to hear of the deaths of these five brave soldiers. That they were killed by one of those they were working alongside is a particular tragedy.”
Sergeant Matthew Telford, of the Grenadier Guards, one of the other victims, had been temporarily employed as a mentor to the Afghan National Police. Sergeant Telford, 37, from Grimsby, leaves a wife, Kerry, and two sons.
His family said: “Matt was a larger than life character, a gentle giant of a man.”
Guardsman James Major, 18, of the Grenadier Guards was from Grimsby. “Jimmy was a tremendous son. He was proud to be a soldier and died doing a job he loved. We are devastated by the loss of Jimmy,” his family said.
Corporal Nicholas Webster-Smith, 24, of the Royal Military Police, who lived in Brackley, Northamptonshire, leaves a partner, Emma Robinson.
His family described him as: “An irreplaceable son, brother, boyfriend and friend.”
Corporal Steven Boote, 22, of the Royal Military Police from Birkenhead, Liverpool, was a member of the Territorial Army and leaves a long-term girlfriend, Emma Murray.
She and his family said they were proud of him. “I will love and miss you more than words can say,” Ms Murray said.
Three theories
• The attacker was high on drugs
The police are riddled with addicts, particularly in Helmand which produces about 90 per cent of the world’s opium. But his commander said Gulbuddin was not an addict - Ruled out
• It was a Taleban plot
They were quick to claim responsibility and are savvy propagandists. Afghan police are heavily infiltrated and loyalties are never clear cut. But why wait two years after he joined the force to activate a one-man sleeper cell? Possible but unlikely
• Revenge for loss of face
Security sources say Gulbuddin may have been humiliated in a public “dressing down” by one of his mentors. The killer had certainly abandoned his job at a different checkpoint over a dispute with the commander - The most probable explanation
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/Afghanistan/article6905421.ece
Soldiers who were shot in Afghanistan this week
A full-scale manhunt involving British special forces and Afghan police units is under way in Helmand to try to find the gunman responsible for shooting dead five soldiers in Nad-e Ali.
Tributes to the soldiers murdered by an Afghan police officer poured in yesterday as the death of another British serviceman was announced.
The victims of the lone gunman ranged from the Regimental Sergeant Major of the Grenadier Guards who was due to become a father for the fourth time, to a guardsman about to celebrate his 19th birthday. Warrant Officer Class 1 Darren “Daz” Chant, 40, regarded by his comrades in the Grenadier Guards as a legendary figure, was due to have been told the day he died that he was to be commissioned as an officer, rising in rank to captain.
The sergeant-major had also been on a shortlist of three to become the most senior non-commissioned officer in the Army — Academy Sergeant-Major at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. His reputation as a courageous soldier was enhanced by the revelation that he saved the life of a Grenadier Guardsman whose leg had been blown off after an explosion in Helmand.
He put Guardsman Scott Blaney, 22, on his shoulders and ran more than a mile to where a helicopter was waiting to evacuate him. “I owe him everything,” Guardsman Blaney told The Sun.
The latest soldier killed was from the 3rd Battalion The Rifles, who died as a result of an explosion near Sangin in central Helmand. He was the 230th member of the Armed Forces to die in Afghanistan since 2001, and the 93rd to be killed this year, nearly twice as many as last year. In the hunt for the Afghan gunman who fired a machinegun at British troops relaxing after a patrol at a checkpoint in Nad-e Ali, the Royal Military Police special investigations branch is questioning all the witnesses to the shooting, including soldiers injured during the attack.
The SAS and Special Boat Service have been brought in to follow every lead that might uncover the whereabouts of the gunman, who vanished from the scene of the slaughter. The Taleban claimed he was safely under their protection.
Six soldiers who were injured in the attack have been flown back to a hospital in Selly Oak, Birmingham.
The Royal Military Police are investigating whether the gunman, identified as Gulbuddin, was acting alone in response to a “ticking off” he received from one of the British military mentors reportedly Warrant Officer 1 Chant, or that he was a Taleban infiltrator who picked his moment when the British troops were most vulnerable.
The police commander in Shin Kalay, where the five British soldiers were gunned down, confirmed that the gunman was acting alone and that he escaped the scene on foot, scotching suggestions he had an accomplice and had fled on a motorbike, the Taleban’s favoured form of transport.
Haji Manan, the checkpoint commander, also revealed that Gulbuddin should have been moved to a different base days before the attack, but the troops were too busy fighting the Taleban.
Lieutenant-General Jim Dutton, the British deputy commander of Nato forces in Afghanistan, warned it was unlikely to be the last such incident, although he said they were “very rare” and should be seen in perspective. “There are over 90,000 policemen in this country. The vast majority are doing a good job for the future of Afghanistan,” he said.
Warrant Officer 1 Chant was present at the reinforced checkpoint where the killings occurred on Tuesday because the Grenadier Guards battle group, recently arrived in Helmand for its six-month tour, had identified the need for increased mentoring of the Afghan National Police within its area of operations.
“WO1 Chant was carved from the very rock that forms the foundations of a regiment,” the Ministry of Defence said.
He leaves his wife Nausheen, who is pregnant, and three children from a previous marriage. Mrs Chant said: “I am devastated by the loss of my husband. Our unborn son will never meet his father, but he will know him through his legacy.”
Paying tribute to the five men — three from the Grenadier Guards and two from the Royal Military Police — Bob Ainsworth, the Defence Secretary, said: “I was so very sorry to hear of the deaths of these five brave soldiers. That they were killed by one of those they were working alongside is a particular tragedy.”
Sergeant Matthew Telford, of the Grenadier Guards, one of the other victims, had been temporarily employed as a mentor to the Afghan National Police. Sergeant Telford, 37, from Grimsby, leaves a wife, Kerry, and two sons.
His family said: “Matt was a larger than life character, a gentle giant of a man.”
Guardsman James Major, 18, of the Grenadier Guards was from Grimsby. “Jimmy was a tremendous son. He was proud to be a soldier and died doing a job he loved. We are devastated by the loss of Jimmy,” his family said.
Corporal Nicholas Webster-Smith, 24, of the Royal Military Police, who lived in Brackley, Northamptonshire, leaves a partner, Emma Robinson.
His family described him as: “An irreplaceable son, brother, boyfriend and friend.”
Corporal Steven Boote, 22, of the Royal Military Police from Birkenhead, Liverpool, was a member of the Territorial Army and leaves a long-term girlfriend, Emma Murray.
She and his family said they were proud of him. “I will love and miss you more than words can say,” Ms Murray said.
Three theories
• The attacker was high on drugs
The police are riddled with addicts, particularly in Helmand which produces about 90 per cent of the world’s opium. But his commander said Gulbuddin was not an addict - Ruled out
• It was a Taleban plot
They were quick to claim responsibility and are savvy propagandists. Afghan police are heavily infiltrated and loyalties are never clear cut. But why wait two years after he joined the force to activate a one-man sleeper cell? Possible but unlikely
• Revenge for loss of face
Security sources say Gulbuddin may have been humiliated in a public “dressing down” by one of his mentors. The killer had certainly abandoned his job at a different checkpoint over a dispute with the commander - The most probable explanation
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/Afghanistan/article6905421.ece