Rogue Afghan policeman who murdered Prenton soldier could have died minutes later, inquest told

May 19 2011

THE rogue Afghan policeman who murdered a Wirral soldier could have been shot dead minutes later, an inquest heard.

The gunman, known only as Gulbuddin, fled the scene of where he had executed five soldiers – Corporal Steven Boote, 22, of Prenton – in cold blood.

The Afghan National Police (ANP) checkpoint then came under fire from two men, one of whom was wearing similar clothing to Gulbuddin and the other dressed in white, from a field 250m to the north-east.

British troops stationed on the roof of Checkpoint Blue 25, in the Nad-e-Ali district of Helmand Province, returned fire.

Guardsman Paul Steane said he saw an Afghan national wearing a blue dishdash – a traditional Arab robe – fall to the ground having been shot by a guardsman armed with a machine gun.

He said: "I looked down there and I am sure the one in blue dropped and fell to the ground and the one in white ran off."

Gulbuddin fled after shooting Warrant Officer Class 1 Darren Chant, 40, Sergeant Matthew Telford, 37, and Guardsman Jimmy Major, 18, from the Grenadier Guards, as well as Corporal Boote and Corporal Nicholas Webster-Smith, 24, from the Royal Military Police. The inquest continues.