Soldiers attacked by Afghan roadside bomb

A roadside bomb hit a convoy of British troops today, wounding one soldier, police said.

Troops responded by opening fire in a civilian area in insurgency-plagued Helmand province, killing one man.

Also in the south, militants executed the kidnapped son of a police officer, reneging on a deal to free him in exchange for the release of a Taliban commander, while violence elsewhere killed more than a dozen suspected militants, a US-led coalition soldier and four Afghan troops.

A remote-controlled bomb hit a NATO convoy, wounding one British soldier this morning and prompting British troops to open fire in a civilian area south of Helmand’s main city of Lashkar Gah, said provincial police chief Mohammad Hussain.

Hussain said the British gunfire killed one man, but it was not clear if the victim was a civilian or a militant involved in the attack.

Raz Mohammad Sayed, director of a local hospital, said one man was killed, and another man was wounded by British gunfire. He referred to both victims as “civilians”.

At the hospital, Saad Mohammad, the brother of the man killed, said he was with his brother when the British forces opened fire in different directions, including at houses in the area.

Asked about the attack on the British forces and subsequent shooting, the press office of NATO’s International Security Assistance Force confirmed violence with NATO casualties in the south. It did not give any further details, saying it was looking into incident.

Separately in the Sangin district of Helmand, militants executed the kidnapped son of a police officer yesterday, reneging on a deal to release the hostage in exchange for a Taliban commander, said deputy district police chief Abdullah Khan.

The Taliban had initially demanded the release of the Taliban group commander, but after he was freed, they changed the terms of the deal, demanding that the district police chief – the father of the hostage – step down.

The militants killed the police chief’s son last night in Musa Qala, and handed his body over today, Khan said. It was not clear how old the victim was.

In March, the Afghan government released five senior Taliban militants in exchange for the freedom of a kidnapped Italian journalist. The prisoner swap was heavily criticised and sparked fears that the deal would give the Taliban an incentive to carry out more kidnappings.

Also in Helmand, insurgents opened fire on joint Afghan and coalition troops, who returned fire and called for airstrikes on the militants’ position in Langar village, said a coalition statement.

Coalition helicopters and aircraft bombed “positively identified enemy positions,” killing more than one dozen enemy fighters, the statement said.

The battle also left one coalition soldier and an Afghan soldier dead, and there were no reports of Afghan civilians wounded, it said.