Soldiers shot in Afghanistan named

Two British soldiers shot dead by a man wearing an Afghan police uniform have been named as Lieutenant Edward Drummond-Baxter and Lance Corporal Siddhanta Kunwar of 1st Battalion The Royal Gurkha Rifles.

Lt Drummond-Baxter, who lived in County Durham, was on his first deployment to Afghanistan.

L/Cpl Kunwar, 28, from Pokhara, Nepal, and Lt Drummond-Baxter were attached to 40 Commando Royal Marines and were attending a meeting with Afghan uniformed policemen at Check Point Prrang in Nahr-e Saraj when one of the men opened fire, the Ministry of Defence said.

Lt Drummond-Baxter, 29, deployed to Afghanistan only on September 30.

His mother Helen, father David and sister Emily issued a statement saying: "Edward was fiercely loyal and totally sincere to his parents, sister and many friends who are mourning him today, both in the UK and around the world.

"He loved the Gurkhas and died among friends doing the job that he wanted to do. Helen and David would appreciate being left to grieve in private."

The family of L/Cpl Kunwar said: "We are deeply shocked, disheartened and in disbelief that Siddhanta is no longer with us.

"But we shall treasure all the good things he did. He enjoyed immensely his profession and was fully committed towards it.

"He has made us proud. The whole family misses him dearly."

The "green-on-blue" attack brings the number of British servicemen killed by Afghan soldiers or police to 11 this year, compared to just one in 2011, three in 2010, and five in 2009.