British soldiers lured to death by Afghan policeman they tried to help

Two British soldiers and four US troops were killed during the weekend in separate "green on blue" attacks, the latest victims of Afghan forces turning their weapons on Nato troops.

The British soldiers from 3rd Battalion The Yorkshire Regiment were shot dead by an Afghan policeman at a checkpoint in Helmand province, moments after they had given him medical treatment for what is thought to have been a feigned injury.

Four Americans were then shot dead by one or more Afghan policemen in Zabul province, bringing the toll from such shootings to at least 51 in 2012 alone - nearly one-in-six of all Nato deaths in Afghanistan this year.

An Afghan security official in Helmand said the killer, Gul Agha, had called over the British soldiers at a checkpoint on Saturday and said his leg needed treatment. The 25 year-old had joined the Afghan Local Police programme five months ago. As the Britons returned to their vehicles, he drew a pistol and opened fire, killing two and wounding three others, before he was shot dead.

The attacks came only two days after the attack on Camp Bastion, where Prince Harry is stationed, which caused hundreds of millions of pounds' worth of damage. Six American Harrier jets were destroyed and two badly damaged. Three refuelling stations were also destroyed and six soft-skin hangars were damaged.

Meanwhile, Nato was accused yesterday (Sunday) of killing eight women in an air strike that was targeting insurgents in Laghman province. The US-led International Security Assistance Force later extended its "deepest regrets and sympathies"

Separately a soldier killed in a roadside bomb on Friday has been named as Lance Corporal Duane Groom from The Queen's Company, 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards.