The five British soldiers shot dead in Afghanistan when a policeman opened fire at a checkpoint in the Nad-e'Ali district of Helmand have been named by the Ministry of Defence. Skip related content
Related photos / videos
They are Warrant Officer 1st Class Darren Chant, Sergeant Matthew Telford and Guardsman Jimmy Major, all from 1st Battalion The Grenadier Guards; Acting Corporal Steven Boote and Corporal Nicholas Webster-Smith, both from the Royal Military Police.
They were killed in the Nad-e'Ali district of Helmand Province on Tuesday afternoon.
British troops are thought to be involved in a manhunt for the assassin named by tribal elders as Taliban member Gulbuddin.
Another six British soldiers and two Afghan policemen were wounded in the shooting which has rocked the coalition mission in Afghanistan.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown paid tribute to the soldiers describing their deaths as a "terrible loss". But promised to press on with the strategy of training Afghan soldiers and police.
Mr Brown told the House of Commons: "It appears that they were targeted because they were engaged in what our enemies fear most - they were mentoring and strengthening Afghan forces to make Afghanistan more secure."
The men's deaths make this the bloodiest year for the Armed Forces since the Falklands War.
The death toll in Afghanistan since the conflict began in 2001 now stands at 229.
Tributes have been paid to a schoolgirl who died after slipping in her high heels and falling under a train while waving goodbye to her friends.
