Killing of third British female soldier to die in Afghanistan and Marine 'was just bad luck': Bloodbath blamed on local policeman's friendly fire

• Medic Channing Day and Corporal David O'Connor have both been killed
• Pair thought to have been shot by insurgents in Nahr-e Saraj, Helmand
• But Afghan source claimed the deaths were from 'green on blue' attack
• This type of attack is where coalition troops are killed by their Afghan allies
• 435 UK service members have died since operations began in Afghanistan

A female Army medic and a Royal Marine have been killed in a suspected 'friendly fire' tragedy in Afghanistan.
Corporal Channing Day, 25, and Corporal David O'Connor, 27, are believed to have been shot dead by an Afghan policeman after a mistaken exchange of fire.
A third UK serviceman was wounded in the gunfight on Wednesday.

Killed: Female medic Channing Day, 25, from Comber in County Down, Northern Ireland, has been shot dead while on patrol in in Afghanistan

Tragic: Miss Day (centre) smiling with friends in a photo posted on Facebook

Last night defence officials could not give a clear account of what happened, but Royal Military Police investigators believe the troops were gunned down by a local policeman, who was not in uniform.
Another line of inquiry is that the troops were wrongly killed by UK comrades in a so-called 'blue on blue' attack.
This was the version of events given yesterday by local police officials, but the possibility was being played down by well-placed British insiders. Cpl Day, who served with 3 Medical Regiment, is the third British woman to be killed on operations in Afghanistan.

 

She and Cpl O'Connor, of 40 Commando, were on patrol when they came under small arms fire near the village of Char Kutsa in the Nahr-e Saraj district of Helmand Province on Wednesday morning.
The deaths take the total number of UK service personnel to have died since the war began in 2001 to 435.
Widespread confusion surrounded what triggered the bloodbath, with military officials admitting the 'picture was very confused'. Early reports said the pair had been killed by insurgents, and a later Taliban statement suggested they were deliberately targeted by a rogue Afghan policeman.

Corporal Channing Day (left), 25, and Corporal David O'Connor (right), 27, are believed to have been shot dead by an Afghan policeman

Sporty: Channing Day dreamed of joining the army since she was a schoolgirl

It was also claimed that the troops had been accidentally shot by British colleagues during the confusion of battle.
Helmand Police spokesman Farid Ahmed Farhang said the UK patrol had stumbled upon the Afghan policeman washing for prayer and a shot had been fired. He said: 'The British soldiers thought he was a Taliban and opened fire on him, killing him on the spot.
'A second group of British soldiers who were coming from a distance thought they were attacked by the Taliban and opened fire in the direction they had heard the gunfire, killing two of their colleagues.'

Misson: Investigators were today interviewing survivors of the firefight amid the conflicting claims about what happened

At work: Channing Day was killed alongside a Royal Marine in the attack

But the speculation was firmly quashed by UK defence sources, who insisted there was only one British unit in the vicinity.
Senior military sources said it was most likely that the fallen service personnel were killed by an Afghan policeman in a 'green on blue' shooting – but as a result of a mix-up and not a rogue gunman carrying out an insider attack.
A senior Army source said: 'This sounds like an accidental friendly fire incident, whether blue or green on blue. It is not a deliberate, malicious, insider threat, a bad Afghan policeman who has turned his guns on the British. This is just bad luck, an accidental event.

Tragic: The family of Channing Day, pictured with her mother Rosemary, have been informed of her death

Loss: British Soldier Channing Day (centre) who was killed in Afghanistanypctured with friends on her Facebook page

'There are lots of people from different organisations with weapons, all a little bit twitchy and nervous because they're in a dangerous place. It only takes one person to react badly and it goes wrong.'
Cpl Day, from Comber, Co Down, near Belfast, had dreamed of joining the Army as a schoolgirl and fulfilled her ambition in 2005. She had served in Iraq and Afghanistan twice.

A CHILDHOOD DREAM

Channing Day harboured a schoolgirl dream of joining the Army, a teacher at her former school said.
As a bubbly and sporty teenager in Northern Ireland she completed work experience with the forces in 2002 and worked well with everybody there, Strangford College acting principal Paul Maxwell added.
She was always physically fit and achieved top grades in PE, excelling at gymnastics, trampolining and netball.
Mr Maxwell said: 'She always said she wanted to join the Army, she was pretty much focused on wanting to join the Army.'
He said her sporting prowess revealed her gritty determination to succeed.
'It was not just that she was good but that she always showed commitment, she stayed after school and did all the practice,' he added.
Ms Day left school at 16 and Mr Maxwell said he believed she went straight into the Army.
The acting principal added: 'Every pupil is dear to us and I can remember Channing as if it was yesterday, somebody we remember as being young, and still so young, is suddenly killed in such a tragic way.'

She leaves her parents Leslie and Rosemary Day, her sisters Lauren and Laken, and brother Aaron.
Her family said: 'Channing was bubbly, sporty, beautiful and lived her life for the Army. She has died doing what she lived for and in the life that she loved.
'She will be remembered by all who knew her as a wonderful girl who never stopped smiling and who had an infectious laugh.
'A girl who lived her life to the full without ever giving up on her dreams. She will be so sadly missed by all.'
Lieutenant Colonel Phillip de Rouffignac, Commanding Officer, 3 Medical Regiment, said Cpl Day was a 'star for the future'.
Lt Col Matt Jackson, of 40 Commando, said: 'She gave Charlie Company the confidence to patrol across a dangerous area knowing that she would be there to care for them if they fell – she was devoted to helping others.'
Cpl O'Connor, from Havant, Hampshire, was on his third tour of Afghanistan. He was described as an 'outstanding and inspirational' Marine.
He leaves behind his mother Rosemary, father George and brother Phil.
In a statement his family said: 'David's family and friends are greatly saddened by his loss and hope to be left to grieve privately.'
Lt Col Jackson said: 'He was one of the best. He was loved and respected by those around him and was relentless in the pursuit of excellence in his duties.
'Brave, committed and humorous it is difficult to find words that can possibly fill the void which has been left.'

* A man dressed in an Afghan police uniform shot and killed two US soldiers in Uruzgan province yesterday.

Corporal Sarah Bryant, 6, left, who was the first female soldier to be killed in Afghanistan, and Captain Lisa Jade Head, 29, right, who suffered fatal injuries in an explosion while clearing roadside bombs

Two more: The deaths take the total number of UK service members to have died since operations in Afghanistan began in October 2001 to 435 (file picture)