London - Five British soldiers have been killed in a single incident in Helmand Province in southern Afghanistan, apparently shot by an Afghan policeman they were training, the Ministry of Defence in London said Wednesday. Reports said six British soldiers were also injured in the incident.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown paid tribute to the soldiers, describing their deaths as a "terrible loss."
The soldiers, three from the Grenadier Guards and two from the Royal Military Police, were all killed as a result of gunshot wounds sustained in an attack in the Nad-e'Ali district Tuesday afternoon.
Reports quoted a spokesman from Task Force Helmand as saying that the soldiers were at a checkpoint at the time of the incident and fired upon by an Afghan policeman.
The Britons had trained Afghan police in what was described as a "secure compound" when the incident took place.
The incident is being investigated, a spokesman for Task Force Helmand. The suspicion was that the gunman could have been a supporter of the Taliban or that he had a "personal grievance."
The deaths bring to 229 the total number of British troops killed in Helmand province since 2001.
