Cameron condemns killing of three soldiers in Afghanistan

Prime Minister David Cameron vowed troops would not change the way they work with the Afghan military after the "appalling" killing of three Gurkhas by a renegade Afghan soldier yesterday.

The three soldiers, whose regiment is recruited from Nepal, were killed yesterday in southern Nahr-e-Saraj in Helmand Province by an Afghan soldier who remains on the run.

Officials said "strenuous efforts" were being made to find him.

"I think it’s absolutely essential that we don’t let this appalling incident change our strategy or our approach," Mr Cameron said, calling for a "proper investigation" into what had happened.

"The right thing for us to do is to keep with our strategy of working with and building up the Afghan National Army (ANA)... it’s when that happens that we will be able to bring our troops back home."

Mr Cameron also described the killer as a "rogue element" within the ANA. Britain has around 10,000 soldiers in Afghanistan as part of an international force fighting the Taliban. Cameron has signalled he would like to see combat troops withdrawing in five years’ time.

A total of 317 British forces personnel have died while serving in Afghanistan since the start of operations 2001. The incident yesterday is the second time members of the Afghan security forces have turned on British troops.