Afghan soldier attacks, kills 3 British troops

KABUL, Afghanistan — An Afghan soldier attacked his coalition allies with a rocket-propelled grenade and other weapons early Tuesday, killing three British troops and wounding four more before fleeing, officials said.

The Taliban claimed the soldier then fled to an insurgent-controlled area, surrendered to them and was taken to a "safe place." Their account could not be independently confirmed, and the motive of the attack remained unclear.

British Prime Minister David Cameron condemned the killings as "appalling" but insisted the incident should not change the strategy of working alongside the Afghan army.

It was the second time in eight months that an Afghan turned against British troops partnering with local security forces. In November, an Afghan policeman killed five British soldiers at a checkpoint — also in southern Helmand province, where Tuesday's attack happened.

Afghan police in the past have also attacked American soldiers and their own police stations. While such intentional attacks are rare, they emphasize the difficulties in rapidly expanding the Afghan forces to take over responsibility for security from international troops.

Critics have said a rushed schedule — aimed at allowing U.S. forces to begin drawing down by next year — makes it difficult to screen out insurgent sympathizers and also to properly train up Afghan forces in military discipline.

President Hamid Karzai quickly sent a letter of apology to the British government. Gen. David Petraeus, the commander NATO forces in Afghanistan, called for unity among international troops and the Afghan soldiers in the fight against the Taliban.

"We have sacrificed greatly together, and we must ensure that the trust between our forces remains solid in order to defeat our common enemies," Petraeus said in a statement.

Britain's Ministry of Defense said the soldiers from 1st Battalion Royal Gurkha Rifles died in a "suspected premeditated attack" by an Afghan soldier "using a combination of weapons." They were serving at a base in Helmand's Nahr-i-Saraj district.

The renegade Afghan soldier used a shoulder-mounted launcher to fire a grenade at British soldiers inside a base control room at around 2 a.m., Afghan Defense Ministry spokesman Gen. Mohammad Zaher Azimi said.

The soldier escaped and is being sought, he said, adding that the motive of the attack was not yet clear. A joint coalition-Afghan team is investigating.