Five British soldiers gunned down by rogue Afghan policeman were unlawfully killed, coroner rules

By Daily Mail Reporter

Last updated at 4:01 PM on 20th May 2011

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David Ridley, coroner for Wiltshire and Swindon, recorded the verdict following a four-day inquest in Trowbridge, Wiltshire.

The troops were gunned down without warning by an officer, known only as Gulbuddin, alongside whom they had been living at an Afghan National Police (ANP) checkpoint in Nad-e-Ali, Helmand Province.

Warrant Officer Class 1 Darren Chant, 40, Sergeant Matthew Telford, 37, and Guardsman Jimmy Major, 18, from the Grenadier Guards, died alongside Corporal Steven Boote, 22, and Corporal Nicholas Webster-Smith, 24, from the Royal Military Police on November 3, 2009.
War zone: Checkpoint Blue 25, in the Nad-e-Ali district of Helmand Province, Afghanistan, where the five British soldiers were killed

War zone: Checkpoint Blue 25, in the Nad-e-Ali district of Helmand Province, Afghanistan, where the five British soldiers were killed

The soldiers were sitting outside in the courtyard of Checkpoint Blue 25 relaxing, having returned earlier that day from a patrol.

Their killer, a regular cannabis smoker, walked up to the soldiers and without warning shot them with an automatic AK47 rifle.


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The inquest heard harrowing evidence from troops who survived the massacre, describing how the Afghan had been screaming as he indiscriminately fired.

Lance Corporal Liam Culverhouse ‘played dead’ after being shot in the face, arms and legs by Gulbuddin.
Red caps: Corporal Steven Boote and Corporal Nicholas Webster-Smith, Royal Military Police
Red caps: Corporal Steven Boote and Corporal Nicholas Webster-Smith, Royal Military Police

Red caps: Corporal Steven Boote and Corporal Nicholas Webster-Smith, Royal Military Police

Killed: (left to right) Warrant Officer Class 1 Darren Chant, Sergeant Matthew Telford and Guardsman James Major, 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards
Killed: (left to right) Warrant Officer Class 1 Darren Chant, Sergeant Matthew Telford and Guardsman James Major, 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards
Killed: (left to right) Warrant Officer Class 1 Darren Chant, Sergeant Matthew Telford and Guardsman James Major, 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards

Killed: (left to right) Warrant Officer Class 1 Darren Chant, Sergeant Matthew Telford and Guardsman James Major, 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards

‘All I could hear was gunfire, scream, gunfire, scream, gunfire, scream, and then it all stopped,’ L/Cpl Culverhouse said.

The soldier, who was blinded in his right eye, said: ‘I saw a flash of red out of my uninjured eye and realised I'd been shot.

‘At first, I thought it was through a gap in the barbed wire. All I heard was a rifle going off in automatic bursts and Gulbuddin shouting something that was like a war cry.’

One soldier on sentry duty held back from shooting him with a machine gun mounted on an armoured vehicle in case he injured colleagues nearby.

As the troops were off-duty, none was wearing body armour, helmets or carrying weapons.
Post-mortem examinations found all five died as a result of gunshot wounds and, with the exception of Cpl Webster-Smith, wearing body armour would not have saved them.
A casualty is unloaded from an ambulance at a hospital in Helmand Province, Afghanistan, after the shooting

Treatment: A casualty is unloaded from an ambulance at a hospital in Helmand Province, Afghanistan, after the shooting

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the murders and some reports suggested Gulbuddin had escaped back to them, but military sources have suggested the attack was probably unconnected to the insurgents.

No one knows why Gulbuddin opened fire, killing the five and also wounding six troops and two Afghan policemen. He fled the checkpoint and has never been caught.

Some soldiers told the inquest that he might have been shot dead in a fire-fight immediately after the massacre.

Speaking after the inquest, the mother and girlfriend of Cpl Boote spoke of their pride in him paying the ultimate sacrifice for his country.

‘We want Steven to be remembered because he was a hero and because he volunteered to fight for his country,’ Margaret Boote and Emma Murray said in a statement.

‘He fought very hard to get a place on the team in Afghanistan and he was a highly valued and popular member of the Royal Military Police and of the Grenadier Guards Battle Group.

‘Steven paid the ultimate sacrifice for his country and he was immensely proud of what he was doing.

‘We are immensely proud of him and we miss him desperately but we know he was committed to the job he was doing.

‘The Army, the Royal Military Police and the Royal British Legion have been a huge support for us throughout this harrowing experience.

‘We are convinced that the investigation has been thorough and we have had all of our questions answered.

‘The only person to blame for Steven's death is the rogue Afghan National Policeman who committed this cowardly act and we still won't know what motivated him but we would now like to be left alone to grieve in peace.’
A casualty from the massacre arrives by helicopter in Helmand Province where he is rushed to hospital

Medics: A casualty from the massacre arrives by helicopter where he is rushed to hospital

The family of Corporal Webster-Smith said they remained convinced that the shooting was part of a organised Taliban attack.

In a statement, they also urged the military authorities to learn lessons from the tragedy.

They said: 'As a family, we hope that lessons have been learned and that the questions raised at this inquest will be acted upon.'

The British soldiers were at the checkpoint in the village of Shin Kalay, which was on a vital supply route, to defuse a ‘blood feud’ between a police commander and the local Taliban.

That had caused tensions between villagers and the ANP, which had been accused of beatings, paedophilia and corruption.

The ANP were poorly paid and many regularly abused opium and cannabis and were often insubordinate and ill-disciplined.

On patrol with the British, some wore nail varnish or would hold each other's hands, the inquest heard.

An Afghan interpreter said the ANP were insolent and would tell the British in Pashto to ‘f*** off’ or call them ‘f****** infidels’.

The interpreter also said some of the police had close links to the Taliban.

At the time of the shootings the ANP was beset with ‘endemic and deep-rooted problems’ and needed reform, said Brigadier James Cowan, the then senior British commander in Helmand.
Gulbuddin was nicknamed ‘Errol Flynn’ by troops for his moustache and ‘Pretty Boy’ because of his camp behaviour.
Patrol: British troops were working with the ANP to make them more 'professional'

Patrol: British troops were working with the ANP to make them more 'professional'

In the weeks before the shootings he had run-ins with British soldiers, including touching their bottoms, twanging the elastic on their shorts and grabbing one in a headlock.

He was also in a ‘strop’ on the day of the killings, having been admonished for not wearing his police-issue hat.

On one occasion Gulbuddin had taken so much cannabis he could ‘barely walk straight’.

But only one of the soldiers who gave evidence to the inquest said he felt unsafe working and living alongside the ANP.

Lance Corporal Peniasi Namarua, who was badly injured in the incident, said: ‘I didn't trust them. I can't explain why I could not trust them, it was just a feeling I could not suppress.’

Brigadier Cowan said the killings were the most shocking incident during his tour.

But he said the deaths of the five troops had given him the leverage to get the Afghan authorities to reform the ANP.

He said the incident had left deep shock and shame among Afghan leaders but a ‘degree of good’ had come as a result of the reforms.

As Regimental Sergeant Major, WO1 Chant, who was born in Walthamstow, east London, and lived in Camberley, Surrey, was the top non-commissioned officer in the 1st Battalion the Grenadier Guards.

He left a pregnant widow Nausheen Chant, and three children from a previous marriage, Connor, 16, Adam, 10, and Victoria, eight.
Sgt Telford, from Grimsby, left behind his widow Kerry, 33, and two sons, Harry, four, and Callum, nine.
Guardsman Major, who was born in Grimsby but lived in Cleethorpes, Lincs, was the youngest of those killed in the shooting.

He was due to turn 19 but never had the chance to enjoy the birthday cake and presents his family had sent out to Afghanistan.

Cpl Webster-Smith grew up in Carmarthen, west Wales, and lived in Brackley, Northamptonshire.
Cpl Boote, from Birkenhead, Merseyside, was a soldier in the Territorial Army who had volunteered to deploy to Afghanistan.

The coroner had been asked to make a ruling under Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which gives an obligation on the UK to protect life.

Mr Ridley said that for Article 2 to succeed, British forces needed to have ‘effective control’ over Checkpoint Blue 25.

Mr Ridley said that W01 Chant did not have direct command over the Afghans as that power lay with the ANP police checkpoint commander.

‘I am satisfied as part of enacting the embedment policy and partnership Sgt Major Chant did not have this power, therefore he did not have operational control of Blue 25,’ he said.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1389170/Five-British-soldiers-gunned-rogue-Afghan-policeman-unlawfully-killed-coroner-rules.html#ixzz1MufsInt7 ============= Taliban strike destroys 8 fighters jets, US alarmed Agencies : Washington, Mon Sep 17 2012, 14:06 hrs Taliban carried out the most destructive single strike on US and NATO forces in nearly 11 years of war in Afghanistan by attacking a heavily fortified base damaging eight fighter aircraft on the ground, ringing alarm bells in Pentagon. In the attack, 15 Taliban fighters in three tightly choreographed teams wearing American uniforms penetrated the Camp Bastion in Helmand province, one of the largest and best defended posts in Afghanistan, where Britain's Prince Harry is also stationed, New York Times reported quoting full details of the attack released by Pentagon. The assault came in the middle of the night and Taliban teams armed with automatic rifles, rocket-propelled grenade launchers and suicide vests blew a hole in the perimeter wall at one of the closest points to the airfield and then raced towards their targets, shooting and setting fire to parked Navy AV-8B Harrier jets and destroying three refueling stations. As a quick reaction force was mustered to fight them off, US military sources said the Taliban team fought a running battle lasting more than three hours and were able to bomb the aircraft before they were intercepted. The US statement said, "Six coalition AV-8B Harrier jets were destroyed and two were significantly damaged. Three coalition refueling stations were also destroyed. Six soft-skin aircraft hangars were damaged to some degree." The Americans estimate the damage to more than USD 200 million with six of the fighters believed to be costing between USD 23 million to USD 30 million. Two American Marines were killed in the attack, and nine coalition personnel, including a civilian contractor, were wounded, the military said in the statement. Prince Harry, the third in line to the British throne, was doing a tour of duty as a helicopter pilot and was stationed at Camp Bastion at the time of the attack, but was not hurt. Camp Bastion is home mostly to British soldiers, while the neighboring camp, known as Leatherneck, has American Marines and other service members. US commanders are now determining how it was possible for the insurgents to penetrate and severly damage such a well defended base, particularly one with clear lines of sight across miles of mostly flat plain. They are now analysing whether such attacks could be replicated either in targeting Western bases or Afghan ones. The complex attack, US officials said was a reminder that the Taliban remain capable of serious assaults despite the "surge" offensive against them. Now the offensive is over, and nearly 10,000 American Marines have left Helmand Province, a critical stronghold for the Taliban, over the past several months. Together with a rash of attacks by Afghan security forces against NATO troops , including two over the weekend that left at least six coalition service members dead ¿ the Taliban have put new pressure on the American withdrawal plan, which calls for accelerated troop pullouts through 2014 while training Afghan forces to take over. The military investigation into the attack at Bastion is now trying to uncover whether the insurgents had help from inside the camp and whether they were trained or aided by neighboring countries, such as Pakistan or Iran, which have allowed the Taliban to take refuge on their territory. But military officials and Afghan analysts said that the insurgents may well have prepared for their mission in significant measure by studying easily available satellite images on the Internet. "We don¿t underestimate the enemy," the military official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity because of the continuing investigation. "We know the enemy has limited capability to do these, but they are not a whole bunch of yokels running around the country." =========== US-Afghan military operations suspended after attacks Afghan security forces turned their guns on U.S. and NATO troops, killing four American soldiers and two British troops. NBC's Richard Engel reports. By Jim Miklaszewski, NBC News chief Pentagon correspondent Most joint U.S.-Afghan military operations have been suspended following what authorities believe was an insider attack Sunday that left four American solders dead, officials told NBC News. “We’re to the point now where we can’t trust these people,” a senior military official said. So far this year, 51 NATO troops have been killed in these so-called blue-on-green attacks. Sunday's attack came a day after two British soldiers were shot dead by an Afghan policeman, Reuters reported.
Follow @NBCNewsWorld Four NATO soldiers killed in Afghan 'insider' attack "It's had a major impact on our ability to conduct combat operations with them, and we're going to have to back off to a certain degree," the official said. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The suspensions of the joint operations are indefinite – according to one official, they “could last three days or three months.” The escalating violence — including a NATO airstrike that killed eight Afghan women and girls gathering firewood — is straining the military partnership between Kabul and NATO as the U.S. begins to withdraw thousands of troops sent three years ago to route the Taliban from southern strongholds. Afghan President Hamid Karzai condemned the airstrike; the U.S.-led International Security Assistance Force later extended its regrets over those deaths. The U.S. training mission and joint combat patrols are "critical" to the U.S. plan to withdraw all combat forces by as early as the middle of next year and almost all U.S. military from Afghanistan by the end of 2014. In May, President Barack Obama announced that he and Karzai signed an agreement that would see the removal of 23,000 U.S. troops from Afghanistan by the summer's end. “As our coalition agreed, by the end of 2014 the Afghans will be fully responsible for the security of their country," Obama said at the time. But the president was clear that the U.S. would stay engaged into the future. The Associated Press contributed to this report. =============== ‘West must prove having no part in film’ Mon, 17 Sep 2012 15:17:29 GMT The Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei says the US and some European countries must practically prove that they have played no part in the production of the anti-Islam movie, “not just in words.” “Nations are aware of the Islamophobic policies of arrogant powers and Zionists and are pointing the finger at the US and certain European governments, and leaders of these countries must prove that they were not accomplices in this big crime in practice by preventing [the repetition of] such crazy measures,” said the Leader on Monday. The Leader pointed to the feeling of frustration among the enemies of Islam in their confrontation with the Iranian nation and the sweeping wave of Islamic Awakening, emphasizing that this issue has made enemies of the Muslim world take such crazy measures as the recent move. Ayatollah Khamenei stated that leaders of hegemonic systems claim that they have played no role in the production of the anti-Islam film without condemning this crime and fulfilling their duties towards it. The Leader said the hegemonic powers are influenced by anti-Islam motivations and this is why they have done nothing to prevent insult to Islam and will not do it in the future. “Does anybody believe that preventing insult to Islam and its sanctities is [considered as] against freedom of speech in countries where any move against hegemonic principles is dealt with firmly and violently?”, the Leader questioned. Ayatollah Khamenei added that massive rallies targeting the US political and social centers in various nations prove their profound hatred towards arrogant and Zionist policies of the United States. The Leader expressed confidence that Muslim nations will emerge victorious in confrontation with the arrogant powers. Fury over the US-made anti-Islam film produced by an Israeli-American has spread across the Muslim world, with protesters marching on the US embassies and torching the US flags. The blasphemous film has been made through Jewish donations totaling USD 5 million. ==================== Afghan militants say bomb revenge for film; 12 dead Tue, Sep 18 00:46 AM EDT 1 of 3 By Hamid Shalizi and Mirwais Harooni KABUL (Reuters) - A suicide attack on a minibus in the Afghan capital killed 12 people on Tuesday, including seven foreigners, and the Hezb-e-Islami insurgent group claimed responsibility, saying the blast was retaliation for a film mocking the Prophet Mohammad. "A woman wearing a suicide vest blew herself up in response to the anti-Islam video," said Zubair Sediqqi, a spokesman for the militant faction, which does not usually carry out such attacks. The attack near Kabul airport underscored growing anger in Afghanistan over the film, which has enraged much of the Muslim world and led to the killing last week of the U.S. ambassador to Libya and three other Americans. Thousands of protesters clashed with police in the Afghan capital on Monday, burning cars and hurling rocks at security forces in the worst outbreak of violence since February rioting over the inadvertent burning of Korans by U.S. soldiers. The suicide attack was the first in Kabul involving a woman and the foreigners killed were mostly Russian and South African pilots working for an international courier company, senior police sources said. The toll was the highest on foreigners in the city since last April when an Afghan air force pilot gunned down eight U.S. military flight instructors and an American civilian adviser after an argument at Kabul International Airport. Hezb-e-Islami, which means Islamic Party, is a radical militant group which shares some of the Taliban's anti-foreigner, anti-government aims. But the political wing of the group, founded by warlord and anti-Soviet fighter Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, has recently been in nascent talks with Afghan President Hamid Karzai on a peace deal to end the 11-year war. The attack on the van took place as it stopped to refuel near the airport. Body parts were scattered over an area at the western end of the heavily fortified airport, outside a wedding hall. Police said several civilians were caught up in the blast, which again underscored the ability of militants to bypass police checkpoints in the city, which had been manned by extra security forces after Monday's rioting. "The target was a minivan carrying employees of a foreign company who had a contract with Americans. The seven foreigners killed were Russians and South Africans," said General Mohammmad Dawod Amin, a deputy for Kabul's police chief. (Writing by Rob Taylor; Editing by Robert Birsel) ====================================================