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Six soldiers 'unlawfully killed' Afghan blast: Soldiers 'unlawfully killed'
(35 minutes later)
Six British soldiers who died in an Afghan bomb blast in March 2012 were "unlawfully killed on active service", a coroner has ruled. Six British soldiers who died in an Afghan bomb blast claimed by the Taliban were "unlawfully killed on active service", a coroner has ruled.
The six men were on patrol in a Warrior armoured vehicle when it was caught in an explosion on 6 March last year.The six men were on patrol in a Warrior armoured vehicle when it was caught in an explosion on 6 March last year.
The blast was so powerful it turned their vehicle upside down and blew off its gun turret. Recording a narrative verdict, Oxfordshire coroner Darren Salter said there was "nothing their comrades could have done to rescue or save them".
The attack was the biggest single loss of life in an enemy attack for UK Afghanistan forces since 2001. A series of improvements have been made to Warriors since the incident.
Sgt Nigel Coupe, 33, of 1st Battalion The Duke of Lancaster's Regiment, was killed alongside Cpl Jake Hartley, 20, Pte Anthony Frampton, 20, Pte Christopher Kershaw, 19, Pte Daniel Wade, 20, and Pte Daniel Wilford, 21, all of 3rd Battalion the Yorkshire Regiment.Sgt Nigel Coupe, 33, of 1st Battalion The Duke of Lancaster's Regiment, was killed alongside Cpl Jake Hartley, 20, Pte Anthony Frampton, 20, Pte Christopher Kershaw, 19, Pte Daniel Wade, 20, and Pte Daniel Wilford, 21, all of 3rd Battalion the Yorkshire Regiment.
The attack, which was so powerful it turned their vehicle upside down and blew off its gun turret, was the biggest single loss of life in an enemy attack for UK Afghanistan forces since 2001.
The inquest heard evidence from pathologists who said the men were likely to have been killed or rendered unconscious immediately by the blast.
Mr Salter said: "This, of course, is a tragic loss of these six soldiers and these young lives.
"At least it is very clear from the evidence of the two pathologists and the evidence of those who witnessed the strike that they did not suffer."
He said he was "not going to second-guess decisions of commanders in a courtroom today; that is not the purpose of an inquest".
"These are experienced commanders who took decisions on the ground, balancing the risks and exercising judgements," he added.
Oxford Coroner's Court heard on Thursday from Warrior expert Maj Douglas Nelson who said it had been "a very large device - and what I would say is, no vehicle that we had was designed to take that".
"It was a large device - the effects were worse than what we anticipated," he added.
He said that, while the Mastiff armoured vehicle was specifically designed with improvised explosive devices (IEDs) in mind, the Warrior was "infinitely more capable" of fighting at night, when the attack took place.
"Of any vehicle, I would travel in Warrior," he said.
"It's as good as we can make it."
He said improvements made to the vehicles since the attack included thicker armour, better fire-fighting and detection systems and an improved fuel tank.