LASHKARGAH (PAN ): A gunman wearing an Afghan police uniform shot dead three British soldiers at point-blank range at a checkpoint in southern Helmand province, the British Ministry of Defence confirmed on Monday.

Two soldiers serving with the 1st Battalion Welsh Guards and one serving with the Royal Corps of Signals were killed. Next of kin have been informed, the ministry said.

The military alliance in Kabul said three International Security Assistance Force (ISAF ) soldiers were shot dead by a civil order policeman in Helmand.

In a statement, ISAF’s media office said an individual wearing an Afghan National Civil Order Police uniform turned his weapon against service members on Sunday, killing three soldiers.

The incident is being investigated, the statement said, without revealing the exact location of the incident.

A police officer, who did not want to be named, said the incident took place when a public order policeman opened fire at ISAF soldiers in the Grishk district.

The governor’s spokesman, Daud Ahmadi, said there was a clash between public order police and ISAF soldiers in the Kamparak Manda area situated between Grishk and Sangin districts.

Both sides suffered casualties in the clash, he said, without giving any figure for casualties.

myn/ma