It was unclear if the Afghan nationals that fatally shot the RAF soldiers were actually police, or had been turned by the Taliban and seeking an “opportunistic” attack.
Moments after taking a photo together, a rogue Afghan police officer opened fire, fatally shooting two British RAF police officers. In the picture, 25-year-old Corporal Brent McCarthy stands next to the soon-to-be gunman, while 27-year-old Lance Corporal Lee Davies of the 1st Battalion Welsh Guards sits in the background, the Daily Mail reported.
The Afghans tried to flee after fatally shooting the British soldiers, but were killed by gunfire from a British guardsman.
The RAF soldiers engaged in “banter and general chit chat” with the Afghan national before the shooting incident occurred. Lance Corporal Davies from Barry, South Wales noted the gunman had “wet himself” and was afraid of McCarthy, a possible indication of what was about to come. After the Afghan police officer killed McCArthy and Davies, he attempted to flee from the scene but was shot dead by another British guardsman.
According to a military inquest, the two men died of “unsurvivable injuries” after being shot at close range. Both soldiers were two parts of an eight-man patrol team sent to the Afghan police base in the Lashkar Gah district of Helmand province on May 12.
Lance Corporal Lee Davies noted the Afghan police officer had “wet himself.”
The operation was a sort of meet-and-greet between British officers and local police officials with the mission of training the Afghan police, and was spearheaded by RAF police officer Corporal McCarthy, who was acting as a specialist advisor.
The RAF soldiers’ commander, Benjamin Bardsley, believed the Afghan nationals were dressed in police uniforms and staged an “opportunistic” attack on his men. He stated both MacCarthy and Davies were “phenomenal soldiers” fully capable of performing their duties.
“I don’t know why they were attacked. It may have been the Afghans had been turned by the Taliban in the previous weeks,” Bardsley said. “I am sure it was nothing the corporals did. I think it was just wrong time, wrong place with these two Afghans set on what they did.”
[ Daily Mail ]
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