Afghan police recruits forced to train with wooden rifles - after shooting themselves in the foot (literally)

They might look a little wooden, but these are the latest police recruits being trained to maintain order in Afghanistan.

The raw trainees have no military experience and are not trusted with real weapons as they are put through their paces by Western instructors.

Recruits to the Afghan National Police (ANP) include farmers, shop owners and students and they are trained by the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) - formed by police officers from countries including Britain.

Raw: Afghan police recruits are put through their paces by their Western instructors while armed with wooden rifles

The officers training them were so concerned they could hurt themselves if they were given real guns, the recruits have to practice with rifles shaped from wood.

A source in Afghanistan said: 'Some of these guys have used guns before, but the ones that haven't can be a liability.

'After a few of them accidentally shot their own feet, or discharged their weapons while they were cleaning them, the decision was taken to remove the real guns.'

He added: 'Sadly, there was also the minority that were selling their weapons on the black market, but overall they're very committed lads and they learn quickly.'

Later in their training the trainees will graduate to real guns, but they still won't be given bullets.

Around 70 per cent of recruits in war-torn Afghanistan cannot read and most have never had any proper education.

Taking aim: The recruits point their rifles at imaginary targets during a training exercise. Few of them have any military training and most are unable to read

Deadly: More than 3,500 ANP officers have been killed by the Taliban since the start of the conflict in Afghanistan in 2001

The source said: 'A gun is like something from another world to these guys at first.

'But once fully-trained they are prepared to deal with some of the hardest situations in policing.'

The images of basic training were taken by photographer Ton Koene at an ANP centre in Tarin Kowt, Uruzgan, on the border with Helmand Province in southern Afghanistan.

According to Ministry of Defence figures, 3,587 ANP officers have been killed since the start of the war.

Taliban insurgents frequently target ANP officers and police stations with suicide bomb attacks.

Future: The decision to remove real weapons was taken after several recruits shot themselves in the feet or fired their rifles whilst cleaning them

A spokesman for NATO, which helps train ANP recruits, said it was common to use rubber or wooden guns in practice sessions.

Colonel Gregory T. Breazile, of the U.S. Marine Corps, said: 'There is no shortage of real guns in this country to support the Afghan National Security Forces.



'It is common practice to use dummy rubber or wooden guns to teach basic tactics.



'The use of these training aids reduces the wear and tear on the real guns.

