Nato troops killed by gunman in Afghan army uniform
Two British troops shot dead in Afghanistan
(about 2 hours later)
Two troops have been killed in southern Afghanistan by a gunman wearing an Afghan army uniform, Nato has said.
Two British service personnel have been killed by a gunman wearing an Afghan army uniform, Defence Secretary Philip Hammond has said.
The shootings took place at an international military base in Lashkar Gah, Helmand province, on Monday.
The shootings took place at the British military HQ in Lashkar Gah in Helmand province, southern Afghanistan.
Nato said the attacker was shot dead by International Security Assistance Force soldiers. The nationalities of the dead troops have not yet been released.
Nato said the attacker was then shot dead by its soldiers. The families of the two personnel are being informed.
The incident comes after 17 Afghan civilians were killed in an attack for which a US soldier has been charged.
A total of 407 British troops have been killed in Afghanistan since military operations began in 2001.
'Returned fire'
In a statement to the Commons, Mr Hammond said: "Our thoughts, as ever, are with their families, for whom this will be a deeply personal tragedy.
An official in the Afghan defence ministry told the BBC that the gunman was an Afghan soldier.
"Details of the incident are still emerging but it appears that a member of the Afghan National Army opened fire at the entrance gate to the British headquarters in Lashkar Gar city, killing the two British service personnel.
A spokesman for the governor of Helmand said the shooting followed a "verbal clash" between Afghan and Nato soldiers, and that the Afghan involved was from Kunar province.
"The assailant was killed by return fire."
Lt Col Jimmie Cummings, the International Security Assistance Force (Isaf) spokesman in Kabul, told the BBC: "An individual wearing an Afghan national army uniform turned his weapon against Isaf force service members in southern Afghanistan today, killing two of our service members.
The deaths come after 17 Afghan civilians were killed in an attack for which a US soldier has been charged.
"The individual who opened fire was killed when coalition forces returned fire, and right now a joint Afghan and Isaf team are investigating this."
The Taliban have claimed that the gunman was "their man".
The attack appears to be the latest in a number of "green on blue" incidents - where members of the Afghan security forces turn their weapons on their international colleagues or trainers.
Tensions inflamed
The number of these incidents has risen since the inadvertent burning of Korans at a US base in February.
Tensions were inflamed further by the killing of 17 Afghan civilians earlier this month.
US Staff Sgt Robert Bales, 38, has been charged with killing nine Afghan children and eight adults in their homes in Kandahar province on 11 March.
He could face the death penalty if convicted.
The case has undermined US relations with Kabul and led to calls for Nato to speed up its planned withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan.
Sgt Bales' trial could take years, contrasting with Afghan demands for swift and decisive justice.
The Taliban called off peace talks in the wake of the deadly rampage.
