Welsh soldier among five killed

Cpl Nicholas Webster-Smith was killed along with four other soldiers

One of five soldiers killed in an attack by an Afghan police officer has been named in the press as a corporal from Saundersfoot in Pembrokeshire.

Royal Military Policeman Cpl Nicholas Webster-Smith, 24, was shot by a rogue policeman in Helmand province.

The four others who died in Tuesday's attack were Warrant Officer Darren Chant, Sgt Matthew Telford, Guardsman James Major, Acting Cpl Steven Boote.

The soldiers had been mentoring police officers in Afghanistan.

Six British servicemen and two Afghan National Police (ANP) officers were also injured in Tuesday's attack.

The gunman is being hunted after he fled the scene.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown told the Commons on Wednesday that the Taliban have claimed responsibility for the incident.

It is reported that Cpl Webster-Smith went to Greenhill School in Tenby and was in regular contact with many former pupils.

The British casualties were evacuated to the field hospital at Camp Bastion

He was described as a keen sportsman and played football for Tenby in the Pembrokeshire Reserve league.

A total of 92 UK servicemen have now been killed this year, the highest annual figure since the Falklands War in 1982.

A UK military spokesman said: "One individual Afghan National Policeman, possibly in conjunction with another, went rogue.

"His motives and whereabouts are unknown at this time. Every effort is now being put into hunting down those responsible for this attack."

The officer was on the roof of the checkpoint when he opened fire on the soldiers, police in Helmand said.

'Brave soldiers'

Shadow Foreign Secretary William Hague described the incident as an "absolute tragedy" but he added that British troops were undertaking vital work in Afghanistan which must continue.

He said: "It is a reminder of the awful hazards that these very brave soldiers face.

"It must not mean that we stop training the Afghan security services, although we were asking the prime minister yesterday what additional measures now need to be taken to step up security.

"But one of the most important things our soldiers are there to do is to make sure the Afghans can cope of their own in future. It's when they can cope of their own that British soldiers can leave Afghanistan."

The Ministry of Defence is expected to reveal more details about the soldiers later.