London, Sept 25 (ANI): British Commanders ignored warnings that their troops were at risk of attack from their allies in the Afghan army, it has emerged.
A NATO report warned that British troops are facing such danger from their allies in the Afghan army and police force that they should carry a loaded pistol whenever they are working alongside them.
The report, ordered after a rogue Afghan policeman shot dead five British servicemen, recommended that British troops should be armed with 9mm pistols at all times - even when sleeping due to of the high risk of being attacked.
The report also called for the Britishs soldiers to have separate sleeping and living quarters from Afghan troops, and for all British "administrative areas" to be covered by armed sentries, such were the fears of further incidents.
But the rulings were never implemented amid fears they would lead to a breakdown in trust between members of the Afghan security forces and the British troops who train them and fight alongside them, the Telegraph reports.
Only eight months after the deaths of the five servicemen, three more British troops were killed when a member of the Afghan army ran amok in a rocket and machine gun attack at a patrol base in central Helmand.
Subsequent attacks by rogue Afghan soldiers and police have led to the deaths of 15 more members of NATO's International Security and Assistance Force (ISAF), that included American and Spanish servicemen, the paper said.
Also, three members of the Grenadier Guards and two Royal Military Policemen were killed, and a further six soldiers were injured in November last yera, after Afghan policeman opened fire.
According to the paper, in less than two weeks after the attack, a "NATO Secret" post-incident report was circulated to commanders recommending the extra arming of British troops. (ANI)
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